Garbage collectors end strike in Chicago

CHICAGO -- Union garbage collectors voted overwhelmingly Thursday to end a nine-day strike that left stinking piles of trash around the Chicago area.

Members of the Teamsters union, following the recommendation of their negotiators, voted 1,540 to 373 to accept a pact giving workers a 28 percent raise in wages and benefits over five years.

The Chicago Area Refuse Haulers Association said trucks would work through the night clearing festering piles of trash. The city's sanitation official said, however, it would be days before all the trash is gone.

"We are absolutely delighted to have our workers return to service," association spokesman Bill Plunkett said. "Tonight we get back to the business of serving our customers."

The association accepted the Teamsters' contract proposal earlier in the day after a nearly 20-hour bargaining session with a federal mediator.

"It's a good contract," Teamsters spokesman Brian Rainville said. "(Members) should be proud of the effort they put forth on the strike line. This is the sort of thing you fight for."

The 3,300 union workers handle garbage for 17 private waste haulers that serve Chicago's high-rises and the suburbs.

During the walkout, Mayor Richard Daley sent city sanitation workers to clear away the trash around Wrigley Field, where the Cubs host the National League Championship Series.

The Teamsters went on strike after talks reached an impasse over wages, benefits and the length of the contract. The workers make $10 to $21 an hour.

During the strike, trash collection stopped for about 200 of Chicago's 600 public schools. Most of the 200 have trash compactors, but garbage was piled high in the bins for the 82 that do not.

Some restaurants, government buildings and skyscrapers downtown, including the 100-story John Hancock Center, had to store their trash in their loading dock areas. In many alleys, chains were used to help keep the bulging lids on trash bins.

The city sanitation department handles trash removal at smaller buildings and single-family homes.