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 have affected residents' ability to discard trash and recycle, forced the city to staff drop‑off sites and pay overtime, and prompted the city to pursue legal remedies and withhold payments under the Republic contract.

City steps and alternatives The mayor described a set of measures the city has taken: 1) documenting missed residential and commercial pickups with photographs and logs from the health department; 2) arranging additional, private hauler drop‑off dumpsters at the city’s Stanley Street site and staffing that site with Department of Public Services (DPS) personnel; 3) coordinating with Millennium (a private contractor engaged to haul Stanley Street loads to a contracted recycling facility) to empty dumpsters more frequently; 4) seeking DEP waivers to treat contaminated recycling as trash while the backlog is cleared; and 5) compiling city costs for potential offset against Republic invoices or claims.

Cahill said the city received an initial invoice from Republic that acknowledges missed recycling in July and that the city is comparing that draft invoice with its own accounting of added city expenses — from police overtime to DPS staffing and extermination services at commercial properties. “They acknowledge they provided no recycling in the month of July,” he said. “Very little and very inconsistent bulk item pickup. They have not done a white goods pickup either month, either July or August.”

Operational constraints and interjurisdictional issues Cahill and councilors discussed how end‑of‑life disposal is constrained by available transfer and incinerator capacity, and by picket lines that slow truck access at some transfer stations. Cahill said the city’s contract historically routed material to incinerators and higher‑capacity transfer stations such as Peabody; Danvers was used after the city obtained a temporary tonnage waiver because it had fewer disruptions from picketing and shorter turnaround times for trucks.

The mayor also described workforce dynamics: Republic, the second‑largest hauler in the U.S., has a largely nonunion workforce nationwide and has brought in replacement drivers and crews from outside the region; many replacement workers left after an extended period, requiring additional staffing and training.

Council questions and financial concerns Councilors asked whether residents will be charged higher rates because recycling was temporarily treated as trash. Cahill said the city will contest invoiced charges as part of its accounting of costs. He gave a rough sense of scale: Beverly’s annual contract with Republic is about $3.6 million; the city is compiling precise added costs (police details, DPS overtime, staffing for drop‑off sites and related services) to offset against any sums owed. Cahill said he expected the amount the city could withhold or recover would be meaningful but not a “windfall” for individual ratepayers.

Cahill encouraged residents who want their materials recycled to use the Stanley Street drop‑off site. He asked residents to flatten cardboard and compact items to make space and to avoid leaving materials that would rapidly fill dumpsters. Millennium, working with the city, is swapping empty and full containers and the DPS team is managing the site daily.

Next steps and litigation Councilors and the mayor agreed the city must keep detailed records of costs and missed services. The council voted 9–0 to enter executive session under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Section 21(a)(3) to discuss litigation strategy in pending litigation against Republic and affiliated companies (see actions). Cahill said the city will continue to negotiate, to press Republic for additional resources and to seek reimbursements for city expenses.

Ending Cahill asked residents to consult the city website for maps showing which streets have been picked up as Republic updates routes; he acknowledged website updates had been intermittent. He also thanked DPS and other city staff for running drop‑off sites and managing the extra work during the strike.