(Memphis) Sanitation workers with Republic Services are playing catch-up, trying to get to piles of garbage.
Some of it has been sitting for weeks.
“Fifteen days or maybe 20. I don’t remember,” says Leticia Escamilla. “It’s not good. A lot of garbage is not good for me or the neighborhood.”
A weekend deal will mean more trash trucks should soon hit the streets.
Sunday, the Teamsters Union and Republic inked a 5 year deal, giving workers a pay raise and 401-K option over a pension.
With a deal in place, workers went back to the job Monday.
Last week striking Republic workers told us even when the strike ends, it’s going to take a while to get caught up on all this trash.
The end of the strike isn’t slowing down Memphis City Councilman Harold Collins’ push to get the city to stop doing business with companies that allow their workers to strike, especially since city workers are prohibited from striking.
“If it disrupts the daily lives of our citizens then what we have should be good for what our vendors and contractors have as well,” says Collins.
Memphis has a law that prevents city workers from striking, but city leaders say it would be too costly and limit the options if that also applied to city vendors.
