Seattle garbage truck drivers extend strike deadline

A garbage strike was averted Friday night as unionized Seattle garbage truck drivers voted to extend by two weeks the deadline for reaching an agreement with the city’s two main hauling companies, Allied Waste and Waste Management. Members of Teamsters Local 174 voted to continue negotiations, despite the concurrent expiration of their six-year contract with the haulers. The eleventh-hour compromise guarantees the union will participate in scheduled negotiations through April 14, but will strike if no agreement is reached by April 16.