Unionized sanitation employees at Ecology Services, a company contracted by Anne Arundel County for recycling and yard waste collection, say they are on strike over the company’s refusal to address unsafe working conditions and unfair wages.
More than 70 employees and members of Teamsters Local 570, the union representing Ecology Services employees, went on strike Wednesday morning outside Ecology Services’ location in Pasadena.
The strike stems from frustrations with Ecology Services’ management, which has offered a 38-cent per hour wage increase and not addressed safety issues, the Teamsters national union said in a news release. The company’s trucks are “dangerously ill-equipped” and lack air conditioning, proper seating and seatbelts.
Curtis Henry, an Ecology Services driver on strike, said the cameras on the trucks, which allow drivers to see and hear what’s going on in the back, don’t work either. Others mentioned a lack of personal protective equipment, like gloves, being provided.
“This strike is a direct consequence of Ecology Curbside Services’ greed and blatant disregard for worker safety,” said Sean Cedenio, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 570. “We refuse to allow this company to continue jeopardizing the health and safety of our members. Ecology must take our demands for safety seriously, or this strike will continue.”
This summer, a worker suffered a severe head injury after falling from a truck due to heat exhaustion and lack of water, the union said.
“It got so hot this summer, and we have no AC in the trucks, so we can’t even get in for relief,” said Endia Spriggs, a thrower with Ecology Services. “We run through people’s sprinklers, and some people hose us off.”
In early August, a Baltimore Department of Public Works crew member collapsed on the job and died due to hyperthermia, which happens when a body is dangerously overheated.
“We have the right to come to work without fearing for our safety or wondering if we’ll make it home to our families at the end of the day,” Herman Young, a driver at Ecology Curbside Services and a Local 570 shop steward, said in the release. “This strike is our last resort. None of us want to be out here, but the company has left us no choice. We refuse to continue working under these hazardous conditions.”
In a Facebook post, Anne Arundel DPW said a “small crew reported to work and began recycling collections” around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Cedenio said about 80% of the workforce showed up for work Tuesday.
“We are not the one not doing our job,” Ecology Services worker Tiofilo Rivera said through a translator while on the picket line Wednesday.
Ecology Services did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
Ecology Services operates under a contract with Anne Arundel County. The local union said it reached out to the county government to address the concerns, but has not received a response.
“County governments have a duty to ensure that companies operating under publicly funded contracts provide safe working conditions,” said Chuck Stiles, director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division. “We call on the Anne Arundel County government to step in and demand that Ecology Curbside Services present a fair contract that addresses and corrects its unsafe practices.”
However, contractors are responsible for managing the internal operations of their businesses and complying with the requirements of the contracts they have been awarded, Matt Diehl, a DPW spokesperson, said in an email Wednesday afternoon.
“The County is bound by its contractual relationship and cannot intervene in the internal matters of an independent contractor without a proper legal basis, and there is no legal basis here for the County to be involved in or influence the current negotiations,” he wrote.
Curbside recycling and yard waste collection services in Pasadena, Severna Park, Odenton and Laurel are suspended this week as a result of the strike. Recycling and yard waste collections are expected to resume the week of Sept. 9, though they may not follow a normal schedule, Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works said in a news release Friday. Household garbage collection services will continue in the affected areas this week.
There are 37,605 households in the affected areas, or 22% of countywide customers, according to Diehl.
A conclusion to the Teamsters Local 570 strike is “open-ended,” Cedenio said.
“We’re hoping that the company comes back to the table and negotiates a fair settlement to address the concerns,” he said.
Only households in service areas 5, 8, and 15, which includes Pasadena, Severna Park, Odenton and Laurel, will be affected. Residents can identify their service area by entering their address on the county’s Find My Collection Day feature.
Though the county does not anticipate any collection of recyclables or yard waste in these areas this week, DPW will update customers if the situation changes, Diehl said.
The county’s landfill and recycling centers will be open during their normal hours — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
