Garbage and recycling haulers from Teamsters Local 174 an 117 reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Wednesday night with Allied Waste Services, which serves nearly 16,200 Kent single-family homes.
Contract talks continued on Thursday between Waste Management and union officials, according to an e-mail to Kent city officials from Susan Robinson, director of public sector services for Waste Management. Drivers reported to work as usual Thursday.
Waste Management contracts with Kent to serve about 2,100 commercial customers as well as nearly 270 apartments and condominiums. Allied Waste contracts with Kent to serve single-family homes.
The Allied Waste contract with the union covers about 145 employees and expired March 31. Union members are expected to vote Saturday on whether to ratify the new contract, according to an Allied Waste e-mail to Kent city officials.
Union members voted March 28 to authorize a strike against the two garbage companies if talks broke down and agreements on new contracts could not be reached.
Waste Management and Allied Waste serve numerous cities in King and Snohomish counties.
Allied Waste, based in Phoenix, Ariz., and Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, are large, multi-state companies that serve millions of customers nationwide.
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