Beverly mayor says city withholding payments as Republic Services strike stretches into third month

Mayor Mike Cahill told the Beverly City Council on Sept. 2 that the Teamsters Local 25 strike of Republic Services has stretched into its third month and continues to disrupt curbside trash and recycling collection for the city. Cahill said the city has pursued state waivers and temporary alternatives while documenting missed services and preparing a legal response.

The mayor said the strike had reached “day 62 or 63 or 64,” and that Republic had provided very little curbside recycling service in July. “We haven't written them a check, paid them a penny since the strike started, and we won't until we go through this process,” Cahill said, describing the city’s effort to document missed pickups and the additional costs the city has incurred.

The council heard that early in the strike whole neighborhoods saw pickups delayed for more than a week, commercial dumpster service lapsed, and recycling built up to a level that posed public‑health and operational problems. Cahill said the city obtained a temporary waiver from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that allows recycling to be collected and processed as trash for a limited period to reduce contamination and public‑health risk, and secured a temporary tonnage waiver at the Danvers transfer site to help trucks make more trips.

Why it matters: the disruptions…