Trash Haulers on Strike

WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010

New York, NY —

Trash haulers for Waste Management Incorporated have gone on strike. The private garbage company is the largest in the country and is responsible for removing commercial waste throughout the city.

REPORTER: 123 Teamster Union drivers are picketing the Houston-based company's local office in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. At a press conference today, Mayor Bloomberg promised that the city would not sit by and allow garbage to pile up on the streets.

BLOOMBERG: If Waste Management doesn't collect the trash with the people they have working for them, or with anyone else they hire, then the city will step in. We will declare a health emergency and we will pick up the trash.

REPORTER: Bloomberg also said that the city would *not* play an active role in negotiations between Waste Management and the Union. It's the city's first trash strike since 1990. The company is one of dozens that collect trash for offices, manufacturers, hotels, and restaurants. Residential garbage is collected by the city's Sanitation Department.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

Brooklyn’s dollar vans squeezed by Mamdani’s Flatbush Avenue bus plan

For years, MTA Chair Janno Lieber has called on the city to crack down on dollar vans, which peel away fares from the transit agency's buses.
Gothamist |

NYC's Office-Space Boom

Greg David talks about the recovery of the office-lease market and economic effects of the World Cup.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Every good night you've ever had at the club owes a debt to New York City

With Webster Hall, the city invented the modern night club. Night life impresario Susanne Bartsch breaks down what makes the dance floor such a special place.
Gothamist |

From Subpoenas to Cockroaches: Journalist Intimidation 101

Plus, a documentary about the eBay stalking scandal.
On the Media |
YOU ARE ONLINE