(The following letter was sent to City Councilors on July 5, 2025)
Greetings Councilors:
Welcome to the East End of Watertown! Notice the attached five photographs, showing toters that continue to be positioned; up and down the streets; waiting for curbside waste collection last Thursday, July 3rd. Does anyone seek-out the City Website for community updates?
The photographs, taken on July 3rd, between 5:36 P.M. & 6:00 P.M., are depictive of the streets as follows;
- Keenan St.
- Arlington St.
- Winsor Ave
- Langdon Ave
- Hillside Rd
Obviously, the City of Watertown, and affected communities, were aware of a pending labor strike at Republic Services. On June 27th, Rob Dolan, City Administrator, in the Town of Lynnfield, Mass., advised its residents of a “possible interruption” in Republic Services. According to the Town of Lynnfield Website, services resumed on Wednesday, July 2nd, with only a “one-day delay.”
According to the City of Gloucester, Mass. Website: “Republic Services will be working on July 4th, 5th and 6th, to complete the trash collection routes.” How were Lynnfield’s and Gloucester’s plans implemented?
Where was the foresight, by the City of Watertown, to advise and protect the residents of Watertown from inconvenience and a possible exposure to a trash related, public health risk? Where were the backup resources? Was no one advocating for the residents of Watertown?
There is/was a little known plan, set forth by the City, for last Thursday, and Monday the 7th. Even if Republic Services resume on the 7th; contingency plans are still needed for residents with overflow trash and those scheduled for end-of-week waste collections, especially in the East End.
Attached is the City of Watertown Q/A from the Website. An excerpt is as follows:
“The City of Watertown has developed a temporary solution for residents experiencing significant hardship due to their trash overflow from this strike. On Thursday, July 3 and Monday, July 7, 2025, the City of Watertown is making available very limited dumpster space for bagged household trash only, to residents experiencing significant hardship due to trash overflow at 148 Waltham Street, the former Sterritt Lumber site. This location will be open from 7:30 am – 3:30 pm.”
Watertown residents deserve better than glorified, duplicate newsletters. Watertown residents deserve emergency action plans. Thank you.
Best,
Angeline Maria B. Kounelis
Retired District A, East End, City Councilor
(To scroll through pages put cursor over image, go to arrows on bottom:) Republic-Strike-FAQs
Again, as always, Councilor Kounelis nails it. I read Watertown News regularly, and still was taken by surprise by the strike. Charlie warned us on the 30th, the strike began on the 1st. That’s to his credit, not by way of complaint. Who else reached out? Judging by my neighbors, no one. (I could add pictures to show the same state of unpreparedness in my neighborhood.) The timing around the holiday was unfortunate, but as Ms. Kounelis reports, other towns made arrangements, residents were informed. Rather than blaming people for not composting (and I compost), we should expect and demand a level of service better than this episode suggests we have. I find myself more grateful to Republic’s management for their workaround than to Watertown’s.
PS: It sounds like the workers’ demands are reasonable, even if the threats and vandalism they have reportedly resorted to are decidedly not.
The “arrangement” the town has chosen, is to snub the union workers on strike and hire non-union workers. When this happens the strike lasts longer. The company “Republic” is bypassing the union workers strike. Non-union workers (scabs) are collecting your trash and dumpsters are being hauled away by non-union workers. They passed my house today wearing masks and a police escort.
If you support your nurses strike, your teachers union strikes or others, you must consider NOT allowing non-union workers to take over the union jobs while employees are fighting for a contract. Consider leaving your trash on the curb to bring attention to and support the strike.
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This was a public health threat. Imagine if there had been a micro burst like the Cape Cod area had Thursday . It would’ve been a feast for the rats ( and I see more boxes same amount of rats though ) . Which reminds me , what of the rabbit invasion of the last decade . What is being done about those ” tick transporters ” ? I’ve had a few returning breeding couples use my yard to nest in and I don’t have the heart to exterminate them or the babies . I know the local coyote population know what to do about them . I saw one carrying away a freshly killed rabbit on Spruce St @ School St. at night. Gross , yes ! Finding ticks on my dogs , and so now we check them every time after we walk them . That’s gross too !!
Our town management should’ve included language in the contract with all providers re; non-performance due to workers strike . We as the consumer bargained in good faith for the service and paid handsomely for it , and so when the provider exhibits bad faith to it’s own workers that cause a disruption of services then there must be a substantial penalty that would force them to honor their commitments to both . Let’s see the contract language ! Is there even a provision for such an event as what happened ? If not , then I demand a change in legal counsel , as the present one has demonstrated their incompetence . Not sorry !
Greg, I stand behind you all the way on this.
Unions are there for a reason and I support them.
Thank you for not killing the bunnies. Nature will take its course.
Seeing the contract details is necessary, and we should not work with companies who treat their employees badly. Meanwhile, I see ads for flea and tick collars but I don’t know how reliable they are. I hope you and your family, including pets stay safe and happy.
It seems that the city that always wants to be first in implementing new rules that we have to follow, (when there is grant money forthcoming), failed in their efforts to be first in notifying us of the upcoming strike and related consequences for us.
Lynnfield told their residents on June 27 and we only heard on July 3 and we weren’t given any specific information on what our city was doing to make sure we didn’t have a pickup problem or how it was being handled.
With the holiday weekend the union representatives knew they would cause the maximum damage due to a limited time to correct the situation and with extra trash from cookouts, etc. They planned well, but our city did not, or at least on first glance it appears they didn’t.
The current plan is not working well. Black totes in the B section on some streets did not get pickups on Monday and still haven’t, and the green recycle totes still have not been collected as of late today, Tuesday. The rubbish is the biggest priority as the contents are overflowing on the sidewalks, which could cause all kinds of critters to choose their a la carte menus from many locations.
I hope people are utilizing the opportunity to get rid of excess trash behind the Sterritt Lumber site rather than let it overflow on the streets, but most people still don’t want to put dirty and smelly bags in their cars to tote there. Will this still be an option every day this week for all sections of the city?
It was nice to get the robo call last night updating us as to what items would be picked up. This needs to happen every day until this strike is over so people are well informed. Many people are not going on the special website either because they still don’t know about it, don’t have a computer, or may not be computer literate.
We all hope that the strike ends sooner than later, but we need to do whatever we can do to make sure we don’t increase the rat population and other vermin in the meantime. Hopefully Watertown will be reimbursed for all the extra costs, including the police escorts for the rubbish trucks. Republic has to pay the price for not negotiating with their union members in a timely manner and causing so many communities harm.
Hi Joan , the UNION contract expired July 1. Prior to that Republic had ample opportunity to negotiate a fair deal. Obviously they’re dealing with the wrong local union. As pointed out in previous posts , Local 25 has negotiated contracts with other trash hauling companies that provide higher wages and benefits than does Republic
This is a matter of economic fairness , not screwing over innocent residents on a Holiday week Do you think the workers enjoyed the Holiday walking picket lines and wondering if their jobs will disappear ..? They’ve got it tough enough already waking up at 4 AM ,dealing with the traffic and archaic roads and motorists who fail to park logically and wondering if a rat is going to jump out of a dumpster and bite them ( it happens ). And don’t forget the flies and maggots this time of year. Then you get home tired and filthy and your wife won’t let you in the door until you strip half naked and she hoses you down in the driveway. I know one suck worker who couldn’t eat for 2 weeks when he started that job due to the stench of refuse which overwhelmed his senses. So there you have it , I blame poor corporate management. Any sort of pressure we could put on City Administration and Republic Services would certainly benefit the workers and the general public