{"id":7978,"date":"2025-08-03T20:56:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T20:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7978"},"modified":"2025-08-03T20:56:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T20:56:23","slug":"some-progress-made-in-republic-strike-negotiations-no-deal-yet-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7978","title":{"rendered":"Some progress made in Republic Strike negotiations, no deal yet – Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"


Workers with Republic Services and Teamsters Local 179 picket in front of the south entrance to Republic Services on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Ottawa. The strike involves 25 employees at Republic Services at the Otawa facility. The action will disrupt waste collections for tens of thousands of residents throughout LaSalle County. Republic Teamsters are demanding a contract with improved wages, better benefits, and stronger labor protections. The Illinois strike comes after 450 Republic Teamsters in Boston went on strike on Tuesday. Hundreds of additional Teamsters across the country are having similar contract disputes with Republic. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Republic Services teamsters in Ottawa<\/a> remain on strike three weeks after walking off the job, with no deal in place after a bargaining session Wednesday.
The dispute, part of a larger national movement against Republic, continues to disrupt trash collection for thousands of La Salle County<\/a> residents. After the initial walkout<\/a>, Republic Services confirmed that it\u2019s operating about 75% of its collection routes using staff from outside the area.
After speaking with Republic on Wednesday morning, Peru<\/a> Mayor Ken Kolowski confirmed that residents can expect recycling service to resume Monday, July 28.
\u201cAll I know is that I was informed by Republic [that] recycling will start next week, and I\u2019ll be told if the strike is over,\u201d Kolowski said.
The union, which began negotiations in June, is pushing for wages, benefits and protections in line with contracts at Republic\u2019s Joliet and Pontiac locations.
Teamsters Local 179 of Joliet President Chris Richter reported some ground was gained during negotiations Wednesday.
\u201cWe did make some progress today, and I was happy with that, but pickets will remain where they\u2019re at,\u201d Richter said.
Richter said some major sticking points remain, especially with health care benefits.
\u201cWe thought we were making significant progress,\u201d Richter said. \u201cBut health care is still a major component we haven\u2019t been able to work through.\u201d
Negotiations on Wednesday started at 9 a.m. and ended about 5 p.m., despite the union\u2019s willingness to continue.
\u201cI told them I\u2019d stay there till midnight,\u201d Richter said. \u201cWe were ready to go all night if that\u2019s what it took. But they said that was as far as they were willing to go today.\u201d
Richter said Republic Services told the union it would reach out with future bargaining dates.
Republic provided a statement to Shaw Local News Network on Thursday afternoon.
\u201cYesterday, we met with the union and made several strong proposals related to compensation and other terms that matter to our employees, but the union rejected them all,\u201d according to the statement. \u201cWhile we remain committed to reaching a deal that makes sense for our employees, customers and community, and welcome our team back to work, the Teamsters seem more focused on advancing their own agenda at the expense of employee paychecks and the well-being of the communities we serve.\u201d
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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Workers with Republic Services and Teamsters Local 179 picket in front of the south entrance to Republic Services on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Ottawa. The strike involves 25 employees at Republic Services at the Otawa facility. The action will disrupt waste collections for tens of thousands of residents throughout LaSalle County. Republic Teamsters are demanding a contract with improved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t