Work Stoppage Halts Curbside Recycling in Oakland

Residents in Oakland and other parts of Alameda County, Calif., may have recyclables and yard waste accumulating on their properties until a labor-management issue can be resolved.

According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, Waste Management Inc. employees and managers in the region are in a dispute that has led to a lockout.

Cities affected include Oakland, Hayward, Albany, Emeryville, Newark and parts of San Leandro and San Lorenzo.

Some 500 Teamsters are not on the job collecting trash, recyclables and yard waste in those communities, although Waste Management Inc. has hired some 200 temporary workers to pick up garbage, according to the Chronicle. However, the collection of recyclables and yard waste has been suspended.

Health care costs and workplace procedures such as wearing seat belts and not exceeding posted speed limits are reportedly among the issues in dispute.

An additional disruption to the region’s solid waste and recycling industry could occur if landfill workers form a sympathy picket line to prevent Waste Management trucks from tipping at the Altamont, Calif., landfill.