The Nearly 200 Driver Vote Sends a Clear Message to the Company as Months Long Negotiations Continue
San Mateo County, CA – Last week, Teamsters Local 350 members in the Recology San Mateo unit voted unanimously to authorize a strike after two months of negotiations with waste collection and recycling company, Recology, have stalled.
“Week after week Recology has made failed attempts at bringing a contract that meets our members’ goals for health and safety benefits and a fair wage,” said Robert Sandoval, Teamsters Local 350 Secretary-Treasurer. He continued by saying,
“Furthermore, Recology is walking back, previously agreed upon terms, by both our members and the company, on process and procedure practices. These agreed upon protocols were implemented to protect the drivers in the unit throughout the life of the collective bargaining agreement.”
The Teamsters Local 350 unit at Recology San Mateo is made up of 188 Drivers who work each and every day to keep the communities safe and clean. Just last year, Drivers and Workers at Recology collected 1.5 million tons of recyclable and compostable materials. This amounts to at least 15 million residential cans of recyclable and compostable materials collected in 2025.
As the vote was called and the room overflowed with drivers in the unit, resounding chants of unity were followed by an overwhelmingly unanimous raise of nearly 200 hands to authorize the strike if negotiations with the company remained at a standstill. “I remember when we did this before brothers,” said Brian Marshall, shop steward and bargaining committee member amongst his fellow Local 350 members. “Together we can win this fight if we stick together, when it comes down to the wire we can’t back down, our families and lives depend on continuing this fight as a united voice, as Teamsters, together we will win.”
The company prides itself on being employee owned but has continued to come to the negotiations table over the las two months with stalling tactics and weak proposals that would reverse policies and practices that protect Recology employees, many who have worked at the company for decades. The company’s proposals have fallen short of a strong proposal that delivers fair wages and good working conditions for everyone.
Negotiations with Teamsters Local 350 and Recology San Mateo will continue in the days ahead.
Recology San Mateo serves Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, and San Mateo, the town of Hillsborough, the County of San Mateo including unincorporated San Mateo County and part of the West Bay Sanitary District.
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Teamsters Local 350, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was chartered on October 8, 1936, representing members in the Solid Waste & Recycling Industry, Linen Industry and Public Sector in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties.
San Mateo Recology Drivers Unanimously Vote on Strike Authorization
The Nearly 200 Driver Vote Sends a Clear Message to the Company as Months Long Negotiations Continue
San Mateo County, CA – Last week, Teamsters Local 350 members in the Recology San Mateo unit voted unanimously to authorize a strike after two months of negotiations with waste collection and recycling company, Recology, have stalled.
“Week after week Recology has made failed attempts at bringing a contract that meets our members’ goals for health and safety benefits and a fair wage,” said Robert Sandoval, Teamsters Local 350 Secretary-Treasurer. He continued by saying,
“Furthermore, Recology is walking back, previously agreed upon terms, by both our members and the company, on process and procedure practices. These agreed upon protocols were implemented to protect the drivers in the unit throughout the life of the collective bargaining agreement.”
The Teamsters Local 350 unit at Recology San Mateo is made up of 188 Drivers who work each and every day to keep the communities safe and clean. Just last year, Drivers and Workers at Recology collected 1.5 million tons of recyclable and compostable materials. This amounts to at least 15 million residential cans of recyclable and compostable materials collected in 2025.
As the vote was called and the room overflowed with drivers in the unit, resounding chants of unity were followed by an overwhelmingly unanimous raise of nearly 200 hands to authorize the strike if negotiations with the company remained at a standstill. “I remember when we did this before brothers,” said Brian Marshall, shop steward and bargaining committee member amongst his fellow Local 350 members. “Together we can win this fight if we stick together, when it comes down to the wire we can’t back down, our families and lives depend on continuing this fight as a united voice, as Teamsters, together we will win.”
The company prides itself on being employee owned but has continued to come to the negotiations table over the las two months with stalling tactics and weak proposals that would reverse policies and practices that protect Recology employees, many who have worked at the company for decades. The company’s proposals have fallen short of a strong proposal that delivers fair wages and good working conditions for everyone.
Negotiations with Teamsters Local 350 and Recology San Mateo will continue in the days ahead.
Recology San Mateo serves Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, and San Mateo, the town of Hillsborough, the County of San Mateo including unincorporated San Mateo County and part of the West Bay Sanitary District.
###
Teamsters Local 350, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was chartered on October 8, 1936, representing members in the Solid Waste & Recycling Industry, Linen Industry and Public Sector in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties.
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