'No End In Sight': DPW Worker Injured, No New Talks As Trash Strike Hits 25th Day

PEABODY, MA — A Gloucester Department of Public Works employee was injured during a recycling event on Thursday, as the 25-day sanitation workers' strike against Republic Services affecting 14 North Shore and Greater Boston cities and towns showed no signs of being resolved with no new negotiations scheduled on Friday.

While trash pickup and some recycling collection has resumed in several communities, cities and towns continue to scramble to staff alternative drop-off events and to cover costs associated with the work stoppage.

"We are committed to holding the company accountable for missed trash pickups, public health violations, and costs incurred by the city, including police details," Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt said on Friday.

• Beverly Officials Decry Broken Promises, Eye Financial Recourse Amid Trash Strike
• Trash Strike 'Odors, Rats' Update: North Shore Officials In Court, No New Negotiations
• Peabody Explores 'Breach Of Contract' Filing As Contract Talks Resume
• Towns Scramble, MA Leaders Mount Pressure On Republic Services
• 'Public Health Concerns Are Escalating': Trash Strike Crisis Grows On North Shore, Greater Boston
• 'All Unacceptable': Mayor Says Trash Collector Failing City Amid Strike
• Swampscott Withholds Republic Payments, Shuns Lawsuit

Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga said on Friday that a DPW employee in that city was injured during a recycling event on Thursday by someone who was "refusing to follow instructions."

"And this wasn't the only incident," Verga said. "We've also had multiple reports of verbal abuse toward staff in the office and on the ground.

"Our city workers are doing their best. They are your neighbors, showing up every day to help keep things going while we work through a difficult and frustrating situation that they didn't cause."

Teamsters Local Union 25 President Tom Mari on Thursday accused Republic Services of continuing to "spit out lies to the courts, public officials, cities and towns, and, most importantly, to the public" regarding the state of negotiations and proposed wage increases, which he said was more than $4 million below the package paid to employees of other companies who do the same work.

"All we want, and will not stop until we get it, is to have the Republic employees represented by Local 25 enjoy the same wages and benefits as the employees represented by Local 25 at Capitol and Star currently have," Mari said. "No matter what false statements Republic continues to spew, it's really not that complicated. Republic refuses to treat its employees with dignity and respect. That’s what this strike is all about."

"We want this strike to end and have our members get back to work as soon as possible to clean up the mess caused by Republic. But until Republic comes to its senses, there's no end in sight."

Officials from six North Shore and Greater Boston cities and towns were in Salem Superior Court on Tuesday to press their case for health violation citations and additional resources from Republic Services amid the strike.

Last week, Beverly, Malden, Gloucester, Peabody, Danvers and Canton officials filed the complaint for injunctive relief to abate the public health nuisance resulting from what the communities called "Republic's failure to adequately collect and dispose of trash and recycling in our communities."

"When it was clear that they weren't going to commit to what they had promised," Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said during a special city council meeting this week, "and when they were crying poor in terms of resources, we needed to remind them that they had been touting their scale and their ability to deliver. So we brought that case to their corporate leadership.

"And they haven't delivered yet."

(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.)