Employees Resume Work at Republic Indiana Plant Dispute

Employees are back to work without a contract resolution at Republic Services Inc.’s Evansville, Ind., facility after a nearly two-month lockout.

Allied Waste Services of Evansville, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Republic, and the Washington-based Teamsters said in a joint release that they would resume negotiations. The labor union is temporarily suspending picketing and the company the lockout. “The standstill will last for 30 days unless extended by agreement of the parties," they said June 22.

 Mark McKune, general manager of Allied Evansville, said in an interview he could not comment further on the release.

The lockout began May 8 after the workers rejected a contract offer. The company said the main issue is the Central States Pension Fund, which is in financial jeopardy. It offered the union a 401K retirement plan as an alternative.

The dispute involves 79 Republic workers and Teamsters Local 215. Since the lockout began, nearly 400 workers at two Republic facilities in California honored the Evansville picket lines on two separate days in early June.