Trash, and solidarity, grow

by Marilyn Bechtel via PWW

Sun, Jul 22, 2007 5:21PM

Friday, July 20, 2007 : OAKLAND, Calif. — As Waste Management of Alameda County’s lockout of nearly 500 union drivers entered its third week, mountains of garbage continued to grow in many parts of Oakland and neighboring communities. Solidarity with the members of Teamsters Local 70 continued to grow as well, as government, communications, transit, health care, and service workers, along with members of ACORN, joined the drivers, machinists, landfill, clerical and recycling workers on the picket lines they set up after the company locked out the drivers on July 2.

After a weeklong gap, union and Waste Management negotiators held talks with a federal mediator July 16. Talks were to resume July 18. Oakland Mayor Ronald Dellums, who helped restart negotiations, said he was “cautiously optimistic,” and Local 70 leader Chuck Mack called the session productive. Meanwhile, the city of Oakland has sued the company, charging it has breached its contract and created a public nuisance.

“It’s bold of Waste Management to lock out the East Bay workers and then to mislead the public about what they will do to pick up trash,” Mack said in a telephone interview. “They promised to send trucks over the weekend; they sent out 30 trucks on Saturday and none on Sunday.”

Asked about the lockout’s potential significance for contract talks elsewhere in the country, Mack responded, “If they can muscle up here, it sends a message that ‘we did it to one of the strongest union worksites and we can do it to you, too.’”

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For more information: http://www.pww.org/article/view/11424/

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