Garbage strike may be averted

The likelihood of a regional garbage-truck drivers strike appeared to diminish Wednesday with an agreement by drivers and one of their two employers to continue contract talks for another two weeks.

Drivers had authorized a strike if a deal isn't reached with the region's two largest garbage haulers before the current six-year contract expires Friday night.

Nels Johnson, regional affairs manager for Allied Waste, said negotiators for the company and Teamsters Local 174 made progress at the bargaining table Monday and Tuesday, and have agreed to hold additional talks April 5, 11 and 12.

"Our objective is to get a fair and reasonable agreement, and we're anxious to continue the talks to get there," Johnson said.

Ninety-six percent of drivers voted last weekend to authorize a strike in the event talks with Allied Waste and Waste Management broke down. Teamsters Local 174 says its 600 drivers pick up trash from the homes of about 2 million residents of King and Snohomish counties.

Bargaining between the union and Waste Management took place Wednesday and is scheduled to continue today. Those talks have not been extended beyond the contract expiration.

Key issues, according to the union, include reining in drivers' share of health-care premiums, which currently are close to $300 a month, and reducing the length of large routes that can't be finished without mandatory overtime.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said Wednesday he has written to both companies reminding them they could face substantial penalties if a strike prevents garbage pickup as required under their contracts with the city. Nickels said he was hopeful a settlement would be reached without a strike, but, "we are taking the possibility of this disruption very seriously."

If a hauler fails to pick up garbage on the scheduled day, the city charges a penalty of $150 per block, Seattle Solid Waste Director Tim Croll said. Failure to pick up the garbage the next day results in a penalty of $25 per address, up to a total of $250 per truck.

"We're going to have our inspectors out on overtime," Croll said.

King County Solid Waste Director Theresa Jennings said the companies would plan to hire replacement drivers from other states. However, residential garbage pickups could be disrupted for five to six weeks if drivers go on strike, she said.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com