DALY CITY, Calif. (KGO) — Tensions are high Thursday as sanitation workers in many Bay Area cities walked off the job in solidarity with workers striking in Manteca and on the East Coast.
Republic Services picks up the trash for more than two dozen cities in the Bay Area, stretching from Solano County to San Jose to Half Moon Bay.
Union reps tell ABC7 News they’re asking for better pay, improved health insurance and a pension for landfill workers in Manteca, who are on strike.
RELATED: Sanitation workers across Bay Area are off the job as trash piles with delayed pickups
On Thursday, there was a confrontation outside Daly City Republic Services. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Police were called in to respond to the scuffle.
Union representatives engaged in a back and forth with someone they said was a non-union employee brought in to assist during the stoppage.
Gilbert Gomez from Teamsters Local 439 said, “To basically try to do some of our work. Right now, they’re just picking up the big cans and I don’t know where they’re taking them or dumping them or what. They’re not really going to be able to do much. They don’t know the routes, a lot of them don’t even know the equipment.”
Trash is piling up in some Bay Area cities as contract negotiations continue between Manteca landfill workers and Republic Services.
“I’ve smelled it on the outside, oh ya, oh ya. It’s not nice,” Daly City resident Garry Wood-Taylor said.
Republic Services says trash and recycling pick-ups are still happening at essential businesses like hospitals and nursing homes, adding in a statement Wednesday: “We are making adjustments to our operations to ensure our ability to continue providing service during this situation. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Union reps say they’re hoping for an agreement but they’re planning to be out here until at least Friday, which means your trash pickup could be delayed for a little longer.
ABC7 News reached out to Republic Services to see if they’re bringing in more workers to assist but they have not yet gotten back to us.
For now, you can go to the website of Republic Services for more information.
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