While a contract between the Stockton union, Local 439, and the trash collection company was eventually reached, the strike caused $6.2 million worth of liquidated damages in Half Moon Bay, according to a Sept. 8 letter from the city to Republic Services.
The City Council met in closed session — which is not open to the public — Oct. 21 to discuss potential litigation, which would allege Republic Services breached its contract with the city when services were not delivered to residents, per the meeting agenda. The city’s 10-year contract with the company runs through 2027.
There was no reportable action from that discussion, Chidester said.
The nationwide strike impacted multiple jurisdictions in San Mateo County, including Half Moon Bay, Colma and Daly City. Local Union 350 members in Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo counties refused to cross picket lines in solidarity with a partner union in Stockton, who was striking after contract negotiations with Republic Services broke down.
The letter asserts that because trash was not collected due to a labor dispute, Republic Services remained responsible for all performance issues.
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“Regardless of how Republic seeks to characterize the events, the Agreement clearly places responsibility on the contractor to ensure uninterrupted service,” the letter from the city reads.
Over a span of two weeks, 54,063 missed trash pick-up opportunities at 3,584 single-family residences and 44 multifamily residences accrued a damage rate of $100 per incident, per day, accumulating $5.5 million in liquidated damages, the letter said.
Failure to deliver materials to a city-approved disposal facility during several days during the strike also accumulated $40,000 in liquidated damages, per the letter, which assessed additional damages for changing collection days without proper notice and failure to collect on commercial accounts.
Republic Services did not immediately respond to request for comment, and while Chidester could not share any more information about the details of the litigation, he said the trash collection company was “not happy” with the damages assessment.
“We sent them a letter assessing $6 million in liquidated damages,” he said. “They obviously are not happy with that. They’re looking for a different approach.”
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