March 23, 2019

Agreement covering 450 workers combines eleven contracts and a newly organized group of mechanics into one 5-year agreement

Teamsters Local 174 & 231 members made history today, as a group of 450 Waste Management employees throughout King County and Skagit County voted for the first time to ratify one agreement covering them all. The agreement is historic not just in its scope, as it combines many separate contracts into one, but is also historic in its achievements in both language and economics.

The full group of workers now covered by this agreement includes garbage drivers, transfer station drivers and operators, recycling and yard waste drivers, mechanics, welders, utility workers and everything in between. This new master agreement brings incredible leverage, especially to the smaller groups who had previously struggled to keep up with the gains made in the larger contracts. The master agreement now brings all the groups onto equal footing.

In another historic move, the new agreement also incorporates the newly-organized South Sound mechanics, who voted to join Teamsters Local 174 just prior to the start of contract negotiations. These new members will also benefit from the incredible language and economic package contained in this mature contract.

The improvements achieved are too numerous to list. Some of the most important changes include the addition of among the strongest language ever negotiated to protect workers against involuntary overtime, as well as new language governing bidding rights, which will give workers the ability to bid on any Waste Management job opening under the Local 174 jurisdiction, regardless of location. Previously, workers could not move to a different location.

The agreement adds two additional floating holidays, and contains improvements to vacations, sick leave, bereavement leave, daily guarantees, and more worker-friendly language governing discipline for minor non-vehicular accidents and incidents.

On the economic side, the agreement includes record-setting wage increases that will immediately raise wages for some groups by more than 10% — and in one case, nearly 14%. It also guarantees five years of full maintenance of benefits for all Waste Management workers in the best Teamster medical plan available, and adds over $2 per hour to the pension contribution over the five year agreement.

In yet another historic move, the negotiating team was also able to persuade Waste Management to pay into the Retirees Welfare Trust XL Plus plan, which was first debuted in the Joint Council 28 Rider to the National Master UPS Agreement and will go into effect there as soon as the full UPS Agreement is ratified. This retirees medical plan, which Waste Management workers can take advantage of beginning in 2020, will allow eligible employees to keep healthcare during retirement for just $150 for the individual and $300 for the family. This monumental improvement will open up the possibility for workers to retire and maintain affordable healthcare for their families.

“Without a doubt, this contract is an historic achievement that will improve working conditions for all of our members at Waste Management,” said Local 174 Director of Negotiations Patty Warren. “We started with the language from the strongest of the existing contracts, and then built this entire agreement on that foundation, leading to more than 175 improvements in the final product. It was an epic undertaking, with an equally epic final result. I’m proud of everyone who was involved in this process.”

“Once again, Teamsters Local 174 has raised area standards and set the bar extremely high,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “We had one of the strongest bargaining committees I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and the ferocity they brought to the bargaining table is clearly evident in this record-setting agreement.”

“This is one of the best sanitation agreements in the industry,” Hicks continued. “This agreement will be a template for sanitation contracts throughout the country, and that is due to the strength and professionalism of our members and our bargaining team. We congratulate them all on their new contract and appreciate the investment the Company has made in their employees, our members. Now it’s our turn to deliver the best service possible to the communities.”

Founded in 1909, Teamsters Local 174 represents 7,600 working men and women in the Seattle area. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamstersLocal174.