Teamsters in California Support Workers in Republic Indiana Lockout

Workers at two Republic Services Inc. California operations have honored picket lines for a lockout at the company’s Evansville, Ind., subsidiary, according to the Teamsters.

The Washington-based labor union said in a news release that more than 200 Teamsters who work or deliver to Republic’s Milpitas, Calif., landfill and recycling facility honored the picket line June 4.  On June 1 the locked-out workers traveled to the company’s facility in Richmond, Calif., where 180 Republic workers honored the picket line.

Allied Waste Services of Evansville, a Phoenix-based Republic subsidiary, locked out 79 employees with Teamsters Local 215 May 8 after they rejected a contract offer. The main issue of contention is a proposed replacement of the pension plan. The Central States Pension Fund is in financial jeopardy, Mark McKune, general manager of Allied Evansville, said at the time of the lockout. The company offered a 401K retirement plan as an alternative.

McKune said the company and Local 215 met June 4. “The company offered to end the lockout immediately if the Union agreed to the company’s withdrawal from the Central States Pension Fund,” McKune said in a statement. “In exchange, the company and the union would continue to negotiate the appropriate benefits to replace the pension, as well as any other item the union wishes to raise.”

The two sides are scheduled to meet again June 18.