The Department of Public Works (DPW) Yard will remain open this coming weekend, following the end of the Republic Services strike.
“We are expecting to have one last weekend, September 26 to 28, for recycling, metal styrofoam and tires,” the town posted.
The three-month strike against Republic Services came to an end Friday, as the Teamsters Local 25 and the trash company reached a five-year collective bargaining agreement. The Teamsters Local 25 started its strike against Republic Services in Massachusetts on Tuesday, July 1, affecting more than 400,000 residents across the state in 14 cities and towns. Waste collection workers across the North Shore are striking for higher wages, improved benefits, and stronger labor protections. The terms of their agreement was not released.
“We look forward to our employees returning to work on Monday and quickly resuming normal operations,” said Kurt Lavery, the marketing vice president for Republic Services. “We will work tirelessly to restore our customers’ trust.”
Beyond Swampscott, the strike impacted other communities like Lynnfield, Danvers, Marblehead, Gloucester, Peabody, Topsfield, Watertown and Saugus.
Republic Services had also seen multiple court cases throughout the strike. Six communities—Canton, Danvers, Gloucester, Beverly, Peabody, and Malden—filed a joint complaint seeking judicial intervention in the strike. The suit lost, with Essex Superior Court Judge Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman sharing that the court “cannot resolve the labor dispute” but that it is “an obvious problem affecting the daily lives of the residents and businesses in the municipalities.”
Interim Town Administrator Gino Cresta had told the Select Board that Swampscott did not join in on the lawsuit because “it’s all of our belief that if we were to reach out to another company now during desperate times that they’re going to hold us over with whoever comes in.”
Swampscott’s current contract with Republic Services ends on July 1, 2026. Select Board Member Mary Ellen Fletcher noted at a Select Board meeting on September 3 that a group is working on the parameters of the new contract.
In the current contract, Swampscott is paying $1.1 million for Republic Services’ work, with an additional tipping fee of $108 per ton for trash disposal and $85 per ton for recycling, according to Cresta.
Replacement workers have also filed a lawsuit alleging Republic Services failed to pay them adequately for the first 90 minutes of their shifts, according to Local 25.
A Boston federal judge denied the trash company’s request for a restraining order against the Teamsters union. Republic Services had claimed that the strike has involved the theft of a garbage truck, slashed tires, chemical assaults on drivers, blocked access to trucks, and hate speech toward employees.
“During the strike we never lost hope that we would reach an agreement that would benefit our members,” said Tom Mari, the president of the Local 25. “We are now ready to return to work and provide the best service possible to Republic’s customers.”
Swampscott’s current contract with Republic Services ends on July 1, 2026.
The DPW Yard will be open Friday, September 26, from 3 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, September 27 and 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Passenger vehicle tires without rims will be accepted on Saturday, September 27, only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
