Yard waste collection in parts of Anne Arundel County is set to resume Dec. 2 following the end of a three-month strike.
County Executive Steuart Pittman announced Saturday that a new collective bargaining agreement has been reached between Teamsters Local 570 and Ecology Services Inc.
“I am pleased that curbside collection services will soon return to normal for our residents,” Pittman said in a news release. “I also want to thank our Department of Public Works and the local contractors who stepped up over the past three months to ensure essential services were maintained for our communities.”
The strike disrupted services in Service Areas 5, 8, and 15, covering Pasadena, Severna Park, Odenton, Laurel and Maryland City. About 70 contracted sanitation workers walked off the job Sept. 4, citing demands for better pay and improved safety measures.
The union stated in a press release that management had offered only a 38-cent per hour raise and failed to address critical safety concerns. The safety issues gained prominence after a worker sustained a severe head injury earlier this summer when he fell from a truck due to heat exhaustion and lack of water.
The strike occurred amid heightened attention on sanitation worker safety, following the deaths of two Department of Public Works employees in Baltimore City.
Ronald Silver II, 36, died Aug. 2 from hypothermia while on his trash collection route. On Nov. 8, Timothy Cartwell, 60, was killed on the job when he was caught between a utility pole and a trash truck. Their deaths have led to City Council hearings on working conditions within Baltimore’s DPW.
Details of the new agreement between Anne Arundel County workers and Ecology Services Inc. have not been disclosed.
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