Trash collection to resume in Greater Boston after 81-day strike ends

After nearly three months of disrupted trash and recycling collection services in Greater Boston, a offer has been reached between the union employees and garbage hauling company Republic Services.

The agreement comes after more than 400 workers were on strike since July 1 as the new contract was negotiated between Teamsters Local 25 and Republic Services.

This contract secures a 46% raise over the life of the new five-year contract and substantial health benefit improvements for employees, according to Local 25.

“I’ve never been prouder of a group of Teamsters in my life. Our members stood strong for 81 days to send a message to Republic and to greedy employers across the country. Never once did the Teamsters waiver in our shared mission to protect one another on the job, increase wages, and improve benefits,” said Tom Mari, President of Local 25.

“This is an extremely strong contract, and our members are looking forward to going back to work on Monday. It’s finally time to get back to serving the communities we live in and care about so much. Boston Teamsters thank our city for their love, compassion, and support throughout this fight,” Mari said.

According to a statement on the City of Malden Facebook page, trash collection is expected to resume, but will take some time to operate as normal. Returning drivers will be required to complete mandatory retraining, city officials said, and delays are still expected to continue for at least a week.

The work stoppage resulted in collection service disruption dozens of communities across Greater Boston, including Canton, Peabody, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Gloucester, Wakefield, Marblehead, Malden, Topsfield, Saugus, Beverly, Danvers, North Reading, Reading, Lynnfield, Swampscott, Arlington and Watertown, according to WCVB.