14° and Clear
Image
Photo courtesy Town of Canton. On Tuesday, July 22, 2025, Town of Canton Department of Public Works employees empty trash from a resident's vehicle at the Pine Street Transfer Station.
7-24-2025 11:09pm
Decision Pending in Canton, Municipalities' Request for Court to Order Republic Services to Fulfill its Duties Amidst Worker Strike
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Amidst a work stoppage of trash and recycling services this July in the Town of Canton and a number of other areas, Canton has joined five other Massachusetts municipalities this week in asking a Massachusetts court to grant their request for a preliminary injunction and order their service provider, known as Republic Services, to immediately resume all contractual services.
Along with the Town of Canton, the cities of Beverly, Malden, Gloucester, Peabody, and the Town of Danvers have jointly accused Republic Services of creating “nuisances and sources of filth and causes of sickness which may be injurious to the public health.” In support of that claim, the plaintiffs say that dumpsters are overflowing and areas of accumulated trash have created a place for rats and odors. They also raise the possibility of potential water contamination through leachate, and diminished accessibility of city sidewalks due to the accumulation of trash and recycling.
Republic argues that a local union of its employees, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 25 (Local 25), is to blame for the trash and recycling disruptions, not Republic. Republic explains that negotiations have so far failed to put a new contract in place, and that employees have conducted a “violent” strike which has prevented Republic from performing trash and recycling pickup as usual.
“It is almost impossible to overstate how disruptive, abusive, and harassing the Teamsters’ conduct during the course of the strike has been. Aside from the violent nature of the Teamsters’ behavior, Republic has been impeded at every turn from being able to perform trash and recycling pickup in their usual manner,” states Republic in its argument that it filed on July 21st, opposing the municipalities request for preliminary injunction.
As an example, Republic says that "an angry mob of Local 25 picketers" attacked a convoy of a lead vehicle and three passenger vehicles with management and 40 non-striking employees, when the convoy attempted to enter the company’s Revere Facility at 2:00 a.m. on July 1st. Republic says the picketers beat on the side of the lead car with flashlights and fists, slashed the tires of vans, flashed strobe lights in a driver's face, and blocked the vehicles from moving. Republic also alleges that picketers prevented Republic from repairing the trucks and that picketers blocked Republic’s hauling trucks from leaving its lot to complete their service routes.
Stay in the loop with Westwood Minute. Subscribe!
Republic claims Local 25’s violent conduct has continued after that date and during the strike, to intimidate Republic and place pressure on Republic to accept Local 25’s collective bargaining demands. Republic accuses Local 25 picketers of additional acts of sabotage, including damaging its trucks. It says picketers have recklessly operated motor vehicles to interfere with Republic’s non-striking drivers on the highway.
In Canton, specifically, Republic says the Teamster presence is so heavy that Republic has enlisted police details for protection. Republic accuses the Teamsters of blocking a fourth truck from performing service, and noted that the Canton Police did not have enough resources to devote to additional security detail to protect that truck.
Until Friday, July 18th, Republic says it was only able to perform at about 25 percent of its usual capacity in Canton. It claims, however, that it was able to deploy three trucks on Saturday, July 19th, and is “nearly caught up on trash collection." Additionally, it states that as of the week of July 21st it expects to be only one or two days behind schedule.
Republic asserts that the public health concern has abated - the backlog of trash has been collected and the company is back on schedule for most of those served by its service routes. Republic says it has made all reasonable efforts, including flying drivers from across the country into affected areas, to fulfill its contract and is already doing all it can to restore service.
However, on July 22nd, the Canton Select Board issued a statement that the strike continues to impact Canton’s neighborhoods and businesses. Canton will continue to maintain expanded hours at its Pine Street transfer station for residents to drop off trash, says the Select Board. The board also noted that the Town of Canton will be pursuing reimbursement from Republic for costs of overtime for municipal staff, container rentals, and emergency hauling services.
Canton Select Board also announced that it will be joining with 16 other affected communities to pressure Republic to allocate additional collection crews and other resources to “address the growing backlog of waste and recycling pickup.”
“The financial burden on municipalities is mounting as we deploy emergency responses, address overflow issues, and fill service gaps resulting from the inadequate staffing and resources for Republic Services,” wrote a group of municipal leaders that included Canton Town Administrator Charles E. Doody in a letter sent to Republic Services on July 11th. They noted deteriorating environmental conditions at the time, with uncollected trash affecting neighborhoods, parks, and waterways, and restaurants struggling “without a viable waste solution during the peak of their busy season.”
For now, Canton residents are asked to leave trash and recycling at the curbside until it is emptied, which may take several days. The Town of Canton has also added overflow trash containers at the Pine Street Transfer Station at 99 Pine Street for residents to drop off trash between 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Cardboard is accepted, but not other recyclables. Republic says for the immediate period, it has prioritized trash collection over recycling.
Canton and the other five municipalities submitted arguments in support of their motion for preliminary injunction on July 17th. An answer was filed on July 21st by defendants, 623 Landfill, Inc., and Allied Waste Services of Massachusetts (d/b/a "Republic Services"). A hearing on the motion was held before the Superior Court in Essex County on July 22nd, and a decision is pending.
