BREAKING: Waste Management Drivers Approve New Contract

Waste Management drivers voted to ratify a new six-year contract Thursday, ending a weeklong strike that recycling piled up in Renton and several other nearby cities.

"We're still waiting on the details," said Renton Communications Director Preeti Shridhar over the phone late this morning shortly after the Waste Management announced the contract signing. "The good news is that they've come to an agreement."

A news release from Teamsters Local 117, the union representing the yard waste and recycling truck drivers, said the drivers would begin resuming their pickup service to King and Snohomish counties later today.

The union's leadership had fully recommended contract approval, according to the release.

“This deal recognizes Seattle-area recycle and yard waste drivers for the tremendous job they do in performing difficult, dangerous work that protects the public health and the environment,” Tracey A. Thompson, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117, said in the news release. “Recycling is our future. We thank our drivers for their critical role in keeping our cities clean and for helping to make our region one of the leaders in the industry.”

Waste Management's 153 recycling and yard waste drivers  July 25 after contract negotiations between the company and Teamsters Local 117 stalled. Many of Waste Management's garbage truck drivers subsequently .

Much of the dispute centered around a $9-per-hour disparity between what recycling/yard waste drivers and refuse collection drivers made under the previous contract.

The news release from Teamsters Local 117 did not contain details about the new contract. Patch has put calls into representatives for both sides and will update this post as soon as more information becomes available.

Has the strike changed how you regard Waste Management or garbage collection in general?