2018 Atlanta sanitation strike

Last updated

2018 Atlanta sanitation strike
DateAugust 10, 2018
Location
Caused by
  • Disputes over labor contracts
  • Allegations of Federal law violations
Methods
Resulted in
  • Deal reached between company and union
Parties to the civil conflict

The 2018 Atlanta sanitation strike was a labor strike involving 120 sanitation workers for Republic Services in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, went on strike on August 10, 2018, with the strike ending later that day. Several days later, the union and company reached an agreement on new labor contracts.

Contents

Background

On August 5, 2018, 120 members of Local 728 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted to authorize strike action against their employer, Republic Services. [1] The workers involved were part of a unit that serviced several residential areas in Atlanta, as well as the Atlanta Public Schools, Emory Healthcare, Emory University, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Piedmont Hospital. [2] The strike organizer claimed that the members voted to strike after disputes in labor contract negotiations with Republic, [3] saying, "The company has halted bargaining and negotiating with these workers. They refuse to reduce employees' cost of health insurance. Workers don't get paid for all the time they work." [2] Additionally, the union alleged that Republic was guilty of violating Federal law in an incident where work was taken from full-time mechanics and leased to subcontractors. [4] A previous strike involving workers for Republic occurred in 2013 in nearby McDonough, Georgia. [1] [2]

Course of the strike

The strike began shortly after midnight on August 10, when the workers performed a walkout. [5] Shortly thereafter, the strikers, many wearing yellow vests, began picketing outside Republic's Atlanta offices. [2] The strike ended later that day at 3:30 p.m., though there are disagreements regarding how the strike ended. [6] In a press release, Republic claimed that union officials had "directed our employees to walk out on their jobs this morning without giving our employees a chance to vote on our comprehensive proposal," [7] and they had "accepted an immediate and unconditional offer by Teamsters 728 to return to work." However, the strike organizer claimed that the strike had ended when it was scheduled to end, with no conversation occurring between Republic and union members. [2] [6] Following the end of the strike, the strike organizer didn't rule out the possibility of subsequent strike action. [2] Republic claimed that the impact of the strike on their operations were minimal, only affecting some operations in the southern part of the city. [7]

Aftermath

Following the strike, none of the striking employees faced disciplinary action from the company. Several days later, on August 27, the union and company reached an agreement on a new 5-year labor contract. While the details were not released, the deal addressed the issues that had led to the strike. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Farm Workers</span> Labor union for farmworkers in the United States

The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) led by organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta. They became allied and transformed from workers' rights organizations into a union as a result of a series of strikes in 1965, when the mostly Filipino farmworkers of the AWOC in Delano, California, initiated a grape strike, and the NFWA went on strike in support. As a result of the commonality in goals and methods, the NFWA and the AWOC formed the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee on August 22, 1966. This organization was accepted into the AFL–CIO in 1972 and changed its name to the United Farm Workers Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Brotherhood of Teamsters</span> Labor union

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors, totalling about 1.3 million in 2015. Formerly called the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, the IBT is a member of the Strategic Organizing Center and Canadian Labour Congress.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hospitality; agriculture; cannabis; chemical trades; security; textile, and health care. UFCW is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the AFL–CIO; it disaffiliated from the AFL–CIO in 2005 but reaffiliated in 2013. UFCW is also affiliated to UNI Global Union and the IUF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James P. Hoffa</span> American labor union leader (born 1941)

James Phillip Hoffa is an American labor leader and attorney who was the tenth General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is the son of Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa was first elected in 1998, and subsequently re-elected in 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 to five-year terms. In 2018, Hoffa was elected chair of the Road Transport Section of the International Transport Workers' Federation at its quadrennial Congress in Singapore. Hoffa is the second-longest serving General President of the Teamsters Union, after Dan Tobin, who served from 1907 to 1952. Hoffa's final term as General President ended in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service Employees International Union</span> North American trade union

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare, including hospital, home care and nursing home workers; public services ; and property services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNITE HERE</span> Labor union in the United States and Canada

UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 by the merger of Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport Workers Union of America</span> United States labor union

Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article discusses the parent union and its largest local, Local 100, which represents the transport workers of New York City. TWU is a member of the AFL–CIO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Fitzsimmons</span> American labor leader

Frank Edward Fitzsimmons was an American labor leader. He was acting president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1967 to 1971, and president from 1971 to 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis sanitation strike</span> 1968 American strike

The Memphis sanitation strike began on February 12, 1968, in response to the deaths of sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker. The deaths served as a breaking point for more than 1,300 African American men from the Memphis Department of Public Works as they demanded higher wages, time and a half overtime, dues check-off, safety measures, and pay for the rainy days when they were told to go home. The Memphis sanitation strike was led by T.O. Jones and had the support of Jerry Wurf, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The AFSCME was chartered in 1964 by the state; the city of Memphis refused to recognize it. This resulted in the second sanitation Worker Strike in 1968 which began because of several incidents that led the employees to strike. Mayor Henry Loeb refused to recognize the strike and rejected the City Council vote, insisting that only he possessed the power to recognize the union. The Memphis sanitation strike prompted Martin Luther King Jr.'s presence, where he famously gave the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech a day before his assassination.

A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorisation, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legality of wildcat strikes varies between countries and over time, although they are not typically criminal offenses.

The Alliance for Labor Action (ALA) was an American and Canadian national trade union center which existed from July 1968 until January 1972. Its two main members were the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, although it had some smaller affiliates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salad Bowl strike</span> 1970-71 strike

The Salad Bowl strike was a series of strikes, mass pickets, boycotts and secondary boycotts that began on August 23, 1970 and led to the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history. The strike was led by the United Farm Workers against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Salad Bowl strike was only in part a jurisdictional strike, for many of the actions taken during the event were not strikes. The strike led directly to the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975.

The California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (CALRA) is a landmark statute in United States labor law that was enacted by the state of California in 1975, establishing the right to collective bargaining for farmworkers in that state, a first in U.S. history.

The United Parcel Service strike of 1997, led by International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) President Ron Carey, started on August 4, 1997, and involved over 185,000 Teamsters. The strike effectively shut down United Parcel Service (UPS) operations for 15 days and cost UPS hundreds of millions of dollars. The strike was a victory for the union, resulting in a new contract that increased their wages, secured their existing benefits and gave increased job security.

The 2018 Alabama Coca-Cola strike was a labor strike involving workers of Birmingham, Alabama-based Coca-Cola Bottling Company United in Alabama and Mississippi. The main causes of the strike were disputes over wages and cost of insurance. Starting August 9, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters protested what they alleged were unfair labor practices. The strike, which involved three distribution plants in Alabama and one in Mississippi, ended August 20.

The 2021 St. Paul Park refinery strike was a labor dispute in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, United States. The strike, involving approximately 200 workers, took place at an oil refinery owned by Marathon Petroleum and began on January 21, 2021, with members of Local 120 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters alleging unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions. According to union representatives, the strike was originally intended to last for one day, but that the company performed a lockout on the workers. While the company denies that the dispute is a lockout, multiple sources, including the Star Tribune and the news agency Reuters, describe the dispute as a lockout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coors strike and boycott</span> 20th century labor action against Coors Brewing Company

The Coors strike and boycott was a series of boycotts and strike action against the Coors Brewing Company, based in Golden, Colorado, United States. Initially local, the boycott started in the late 1960s and continued through the 1970s, coinciding with a labor strike at the company's brewery in 1977. The strike ended the following year in failure for the union, which Coors forced to dissolve. The boycott, however, lasted until the mid-1980s, when it was more or less ended.

The 2021 Frito-Lay strike was a labor strike by employees at the Topeka, Kansas Frito-Lay plant against the company's mandatory overtime policy. The strike began on July 5, 2021 and ended on July 23, 2021.

The 1914–1915 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills strike was a labor strike involving several hundred textile workers from the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The strike, which involved about 500 millworkers, began on May 20, 1914 and ended almost a year later on May 15, 1915 in failure for the strikers.

The 1964–1965 Scripto strike was a labor strike that involved workers for the Scripto company in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The strike began on November 27, 1964, and lasted until January 9, 1965, when the company and union agreed to a three-year contract that included wage increases and improved employee benefits. The strike was an important event in the history of the civil rights movement, as both civil rights leaders and organized labor activists worked together to support the strike.

References

  1. 1 2 "Teamsters Authorize Strike at Republic Services in Atlanta". International Brotherhood of Teamsters . August 6, 2018. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ellison, Denver; Spink, John; Brasch, Ben (August 10, 2018). "UPDATE: Atlanta sanitation workers end strike with hopes of new contract". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  3. Ellison, Denver; Spink, John; Brasch, Ben (August 10, 2018). "Atlanta sanitation workers go on strike". WSBB-FM . Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Mandel, Eric (August 27, 2018). "Republic Services reach 5-year deal with union, didn't punish Atlanta sanitation strikers". Atlanta Business Chronicle . American City Business Journals . Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  5. "Teamsters End Strike at Republic Services in Atlanta". International Brotherhood of Teamsters . August 14, 2018. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Mandel, Eric (August 10, 2018). "Update: Republic Services to resume negotiations with Teamsters". Atlanta Business Chronicle . American City Business Journals . Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Buchanan, Christopher (August 10, 2018). "Republic Services announces Atlanta sanitation worker strike over". WXIA-TV . Retrieved September 19, 2020.