Garbage bags are overflowing in dumpsters. Flies swarming across the air. This summer, malodorous vapors floating in the heat are wreaking havoc on American communities from coast to coast.
Some Republic Services employees, a Fortune 500 private waste-management business with municipal contracts around the country, have refused to pick up trash since going on strike over three weeks ago.
The Teamsters union, which represents the company’s employees, claims they are paid significantly less than other sanitation workers and given worse benefits. But the company claims the union is unwilling to compromise, and as relations deteriorate, so does the garbage.
At its peak, almost 2,000 garbage collectors nationwide were absent, affecting millions of Americans. While Republic and the union have settled certain local problems, a large number of workers remain on strike. In Gloucester, an hour north of Boston, the sharp scent of coastal air has been overshadowed by the lingering odor of decaying waste, and squawking seagulls circle overhead.
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