Sec. of State calls on Republic Services to reach deal to end strike

Secretary of State William F Galvin is calling on Republic Services to intensify negotiations to end the -day sanitation worker strike that has left garbage piling up in specific communities In a letter to the company s president Galvin wrote I am writing to express my concern about the impact your company s negotiating tactics are having on the residents of the fourteen municipalities that presently have institution contracts with your company It continued Residents of these communities are experiencing inconvenience disruption and hardship because of these stalled negotiations caused by the failure of your company to continue operational participation Refuse collection is an major general provision that should not be conditioned on a private company s strategy Circumstances such as these raise serious questions whether these central community services should be left to private companies without state oversight Republic issued their own declaration saying There is no question who is responsible for this ongoing strike Teamsters Local and its president Tom Mari It is time for the Teamsters to get serious about negotiations so our employees can return to work Both sides will return to the negotiating table on Tuesday but they remain far apart on compensation Republic has noted they have offered at least percent increases in the greater part up-to-date round of negotiations but striking workers say it is still not comparable to what other sanitation workers are making