On August 5, 2018, 120 members of Local 728 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted to authorize strike action against their employer, Republic Services.
"[2] Additionally, the union alleged that Republic was guilty of violating Federal law in an incident where work was taken from full-time mechanics and leased to subcontractors.
[4] A previous strike involving workers for Republic occurred in 2013 in nearby McDonough, Georgia.
[5] Shortly thereafter, the strikers, many wearing yellow vests, began picketing outside Republic's Atlanta offices.
[6] In a press release, Republic claimed that union officials had "directed our employees to walk out on their jobs this morning without giving our employees a chance to vote on our comprehensive proposal,"[7] and they had "accepted an immediate and unconditional offer by Teamsters 728 to return to work."