he Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com
A tentative settlement has ended - at least for now - a garbage strike that affected thousands of Snohomish County households and businesses over the weekend.
In the early hours of Monday morning, a federal mediator helped negotiate the settlement, on which union members are scheduled to vote tonight.
On Friday, about 45 garbage truck mechanics for Waste Management Inc. took to the picket lines. When truck drivers honored the strike, trash pickup was halted in an area stretching from north King County to Arlington.
On Monday, the strike was expected to expand, potentially disrupting trash service in north Seattle, Renton and Federal Way.
"That's still always a possibility," said Dan Scott, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 174. "But our hope is we've either gotten (an agreement) or gotten it close enough that we won't have to strike again."
Scott declined to comment on the settlement itself, saying he didn't want to influence the vote. Details of the tentative contract also were not disclosed.
But Jerry Hardebeck, Waste Management's director of public sector services, said union leaders indicated they would recommend approval.
"We would hope that it's ratified," Hardebeck said.
In the meantime, the picket lines came down and the garbage trucks began rolling again Monday.
On Friday, trash was not collected for about 34,000 customers in Snohomish and King counties. Those households and businesses should put out all their accumulated trash this Friday, Hardebeck said.
Between Friday and Sunday night, the company used supervisors to maintain regular pickups at businesses the company deems essential for health reasons, such as restaurants and nursing homes.
Sunday's talks were the first since the walkout began and the first involving a federal mediator, who "was essential in reaching the agreement," Hardebeck said.
The mechanics have been without a contract since Dec. 31. Waste Management said earlier that the company's last offer before the strike would have boosted hourly pay to $26, a $2 increase, while also raising other benefits.
A key issue was a company demand for mechanics to begin paying for medical benefits, as much as $285 a month for coverage of a worker's spouse and children.
In May, almost 600 unionized trash haulers for Waste Management and Allied Waste in Snohomish and King counties approved contracts after rejecting earlier offers and preparing to strike.
"It's been a challenging year," Scott said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.