Strike continues, waste piles up; Auburn may assess fines
Published 2:26 pm Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Unhappy with the barrels of refuse bulking up as the garbage strike entered its third week, Auburn officials waved the City’s contract with Waste Management Northwest for recycling and garbage services in the hauler’s face and let it know the City would start to assess fines Wednesday.
Waste Management listened and resumed solid waste collections for residential customers.
“Basically, we feel they should pick up the garbage,” Dana Hinman, communications director for the City of Auburn, said Tuesday evening. “They are going to start pickup tomorrow.”
Waste Management has informed the City that for the time being, there will be no curbside recycling or yard-waste compostable collections because of the limited number of substitute drivers it has available.
Residential customers should place their garbage cart at the curb by 7 a.m. on the collection day. Customers missed previously can put out double loads at no additional charge. Commercial customers’ garbage will be collected as soon as conditions allow, with priority given to critical customers such as hospitals, nursing homes, and grocery stores.
Teamsters Local 117, which represents recycle and yard waste drivers, remained on strike as of Wednesday. Teamsters 174, which represents garbage truck drivers, continued to honor the picket lines affecting garbage, yard waste and recycling pick up in Auburn and throughout King County.
Teamsters Local 174 has a working contract in place with Waste Management and City officials insisted that as one of the City’s contracted waste haulers, it should honor that contract. Because the City’s contract with Waste Management carries consequences for failing to provide obligated garbage and recycling services, the City pursued legal enforcement action.
To best measure performance or the lack thereof, the City is setting up a telephone hotline and a website address to which residents of the City can communicate complaints about WM service deficiencies.
Residents should report missed pickups either via the City hotline at 253-931-3060, or via a form available on the City website, www.auburnwa.gov/missedpickup. Residents must list their name, address, date of regularly scheduled pickup, and type of service, i.e. garbage, recycling, composting.
