Operating Engineers 324 To Strike at Advanced Disposal Over Contract, Unfair Labor Practices Northville Waste Disposal Company Has Not Negotiated in Good Faith

NORTHVILLE –– Today, the full-time workers at Advanced Disposal will go on strike at the largest landfill in Michigan by volume which serves many metro Detroit communities. This comes after Operating Engineers 324 has been trying to negotiate a fair contract with the company for a year, even as Advanced Disposal racked up a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) violation.

Workers at the Florida-based company, which has estimated its 2017 revenue to be at least $1.45 billion, overwhelmingly voted to unionize in August 2016. Advanced Disposal workers have been picketing the company since August this year to protest their unfair labor practices and refusal to negotiate a new contract in good faith.

They voted to strike on October 6, because they have still not been able to secure a fair contract with wages and benefits commensurate to those at other metro Detroit landfills. Southeast Michigan landfill operators bring in an average wage of $25 per hour with comprehensive benefits. But those at Advanced Disposal earn only $18 per hour ($7 less than their counterparts) and have to pay $150 per week for health insurance, which comes out to $3.50 per hour.

“We stand with our members. For the last year, these workers have just asked to have the pay and benefits that their colleagues enjoy at nearby landfills. Unfortunately, Advanced Disposal has dragged its feet during contract talks and violated labor law rather than treat their workers like the professionals that they are. OE 324 members had no choice but to vote to strike after the company kept dragging out the collective bargaining process and refused to offer a fair contract,” said Douglas Stockwell, Operating Engineers 324 Business Manager and General Vice-President.

OE 324 has filed two unfair labor practice violations with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB found Advanced Disposal was in violation of the first complaint, giving workers the right to picket. The second complaint is pending.

“Workers at Advanced Disposal are dedicated to making sure that the thousands of metro Detroit customers have their waste picked up on time. They are our No. 1 priority. We have tried, time and time again, over this last year to work with Advanced Disposal on a fair contract for their hardworking employees, but their stonewalling and repeated violations have forced a strike. We hope the company comes back to the table right away so we can get back to doing the work that so many people count on and waste disposal service for communities across SE Michigan continues uninterrupted,” said Business Agent Josh Beaton.