North Shore Trash Service Slowly Returns To Normal After Nearly 3-Month Strike

PEABODY, MA — As more than 400 Republic Services sanitation workers trade in their picket signs for familiar routes in 14 North Shore and Greater Boston cities and towns this week following an 82-day strike, some officials are cautioning residents that it may still take a few more days for the backlog of trash and recycling to be picked up and for collections to fully return to normal.

• North Shore Trash Strike Over: Officials, Teamsters Celebrate End To 82-Day Work Stoppage

"Since Republic missed so many regular Wednesday customers on Friday," the city of Beverly posted on social media, "the last day of the trash strike, Republic will waive the two-barrel trash limit for regular Wednesday customers this coming week, as well as for regular Thursday and Friday customers."

Republic customers in Beverly will also be able to put out one bulk item per week for those who need to do that.

It was a similar story in Malden, where officials acknowledged that Friday's routes were left "half finished."

"However, starting Monday with Monday's route is the only way to return to normal as fast as possible," said officials, while noting the recycling drop-off site opened during the 82-day strike had been discontinued.

Teamsters Local Union 25 said its membership ratified the new contract by a 92 percent margin on Friday after a tentative agreement was reached earlier in the day. The members had rejected the previous Republic proposal by an 84 percent vote two weeks earlier, as emotions remained strong around the strike that began on July 1 and included weeks of no negotiations during the impasse.

"Republic Services torched tens of millions of dollars to force this unnecessary strike and drag it out in a failed attempt to break our members' solidarity," Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said on Friday night. "Republic forced hundreds of thousands of regular, hardworking people living in Boston to suffer all summer long.

"But Boston Teamsters don’t break — ever — and we've ratified an incredible new agreement. Republic should be ashamed of its corporate greed. Every Teamster should be proud of their backbone and commitment to fight for what's right."

The union said the contract includes raises of 46 percent over the course of the five-year contract and "substantial improvements to health benefits."

Teamster strikes and picketing against Republic continued into this week in Georgia and Ohio.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

More on Patch:

• 'No End In Sight': Exasperation As North Shore Trash Strike Nears 2-Month Mark
• 'Beyond Untenable': North Shore Trash Strike Nears 8th Week With No New Talks
• MA Congress Delegation Demands Republic Bargain To End Work Stoppage
• Beverly Officials Decry Broken Promises, Eye Financial Recourse Amid Trash Strike
• Trash Strike 'Odors, Rats' Update: North Shore Officials In Court, No New Negotiations
• Swampscott Withholds Republic Payments, Shuns Lawsuit
• 'Very Unsettling Time': Peabody Cites Contract Breach, Withholds Payments Amid Trash Strike