Trash haulers vote on contract

Aaron Clemens and Ed Koch

Wednesday, June 7, 2000 | 10:36 a.m.

Outside Teamsters Local 631 union hall today, one Republic Services disposal worker was overheard saying to another, "nothing's perfect," referring to the latest contract proposal.

"Well," said the other, "this is as close to perfect as we are going to get."

Another small group of workers for Republic Services of Southern Nevada, formerly Silver State Disposal Inc., was spotted trying to convince one man that the pact under consideration today is worth approving, unlike the offer in late May that was soundly rejected.

And still another worker was seen chugging down the contents of a large can of Coors beer after exiting through a door where a big "Vote" sign was hung.

The casual atmosphere was in stark contrast to the haunting rumors of a summertime garbage collectors strike or lockout that had permeated the air in recent weeks. The expiration of the current union contract is Sunday.

Voting today began at 6 a.m. and will conclude at 6 p.m. for the more than 1,000 organized workers -- mostly trash haulers and shop workers -- of Republic Services.

"All I can say now is that the voting is going on, and I will not go into details (about the proposal) until after 8 p.m.," Teamsters International Trustee James E. Wilkerson Sr. said.

Silver State officials also were tight-lipped today.

"We are optimistic that the proposal will be OK'd, and we can move forward," spokeswoman Dawn Christensen said, declining further comment until after the votes are counted tonight.

Workers outside the union hall also declined to answer questions.

Local 631 also represents cement-truck drivers from CSR and Nevada Ready Mix who have been on strike since Thursday.

Last month 429 union workers for Republic Services, which holds franchises for trash removal with Clark County, Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, rejected a contract offer, sending negotiators back to the bargaining table. Just 65 workers voted in favor of the pact.

Following that vote, Wilkerson said: "There's always the possibility of a strike."

The defeated contract, which would have been good for five years instead of the usual three years, offered an increase of about 20 percent in salary and the addition of new job classifications providing for more union jobs, Republic officials said.

Workers said the main roadblocks to acceptance of last month's offer ranged from adequate compensation to safety measures. The workers said one of the biggest sticking points was the subcontracting out of jobs to nonunion workers. It was not known whether the pact voted on today contained that clause.

Last year about 70 truck drivers lost their jobs at Republic Services when the company decided to subcontract the transportation of garbage from area transfer stations to the Apex landfill 15 miles north of Las Vegas. A strike was averted when the union and company agreed that the transfer jobs could go to subcontractors as long as no other jobs went that route.

Other workers complained last month of an excessive workload and not enough attention to safety in the contract. They said there was too much forced overtime and not enough sick days.