Trash strike wraps up as sides approve new 5-year agreement

After two and a half months of stalled negotiations, public finger pointing, and escalating lawsuits, not to mention the trash and recycling piling up across more than a dozen affected communities, leaders of Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25 jointly announced on Friday that they had come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Members of Teamsters Local 25 voted to end the strike against Republic Services on Monday.

With the new five-year deal in place, the 400 Republic Teamsters who had been on strike since July 1 voted to officially end the work stoppage and go back to work effective Monday, September 22 — a welcome return to normalcy not only for the striking workers and their families but also for the communities across Greater Boston, including Canton, that rely on Republic’s equipment and manpower for the collection of trash and recycling.

In a joint announcement issued Friday by Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25, both labor and management acknowledged the tremendous toll that the strike had taken on the affected cities and towns, including its residents, businesses, and municipal employees.

“We appreciate the community’s patience during this service interruption and apologize for the inconvenience it has caused,” the two sides expressed in a joint statement. “We worked hard to reach a mutual agreement that restores the high level of service expected by customers in Greater Boston.”

Kurt Lavery, market vice president for Republic Services, noted that company leaders were looking forward to getting their regular employees back and “quickly resuming normal operations.” He added that the company will “work tirelessly to restore [its] customers’ trust.”

Added Tom Mari, president of Local 25, “We are now ready to return to work and provide the best service possible to Republic’s customers.”

Throughout the duration of the strike, which was one of the longest in the history of Local 25, Republic Teamsters maintained their resolve, repeatedly insisting that they would not go back to work until they were able to secure the same wages and benefits offered by the company’s two major eastern Mass. competitors, Capitol Waste and Star Waste Systems.

In the end, union leaders were able to claim “victory” in their battle, with a contract that offers a 46 percent wage increase over the next five years, plus enhanced dental, audiology, and vision benefits, along with improvements to other employment terms. “This is the strongest contract Republic Boston Teamsters have ever achieved,” a Local 25 spokesman said in a statement.

Mari, head of the largest Teamsters union in New England with a total of 13,000 members, said he has never been prouder of a group of Teamsters in his life.

“These workers stood strong for 82 days to send a message across the country,” he said. “Never once did they waiver in their commitment to remain on strike until they got what they deserved. This is an extremely strong contract, and our members are looking forward to going back to work Monday and back into the communities they service. Thank you to the people who live in the affected communities who openly urged Republic to provide its employees with the contract that represents the hard work the employees perform every day. Sticking together and never uncertain of their objective, these Teamsters won the contract they fought for and deserve.”

Mari also personally thanked Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who pressed Republic officials on more than one occasion to resume good-faith negotiations and work to resolve the strike.

In a statement, Governor Healey said she’s glad that the two sides were able to reach an agreement. “This is welcome news for the people and communities served by Republic,” she said, “and for the sanitation workers who can now return to work with the wages and benefits they deserve.”

Following the announcement of the new labor deal, local leaders also issued a statement in which it cheered the end of the work stoppage. “We are pleased that this resolution will allow regular curbside trash and recycling collection to resume on Monday,” they said.

Officials also thanked the residents of the community for the patience they showed during the strike, even in the face of long delays, missed pick-ups, and at least a few summer heatwaves.

They also expressed their “sincere gratitude” to the employees of the town’s Public Works Department, who staffed the Pine Street transfer station around the clock so that residents could dispose of excess garbage, cardboard, and eventually, recyclables.

With the strike now over, officials said they are looking forward to a “return to normal service” and thanked Canton residents for their “understanding throughout this prolonged disruption.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Sep 25 2025. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.