SF Garbage Collectors Strike

San Francisco garbage collectors on April 23 struck over wage, benefit, and pension provisions. Some 600 workers for Sunset Scavenger Co. and Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling Co. had been working without a contract since the beginning of the year. Norcal Waste Systems Inc. owns the struck firms, which serve all of San Francisco. Sunset Scavenger primarily handles residential pickups, some commercial accounts, and curbside recycling. Golden Gate chiefly handles commercial accounts. The strike affects all hospitals and homes and most motels and hotels. Norcal officials promised pickups from hospitals but did not say how. The last garbage strike in San Francisco occurred in 1940 and lasted two-days.