Republic/Allied Waste employees in the Teamster division are protesting what they see as poor treatment and labor law violations in Buffalo, N.Y.; Mobile, Ala.; Atlanta; San Jose, Calif.; and Canton, Ohio.

"Sanitation workers put their bodies on the line every day to protect the public health," says Bob Morales, director of the Teamsters Waste Division. "It's a travesty that Republic is trying to deny their workers the necessary protections for their employees."

According to a new national survey of sanitation workers, men and women in this industry are often exposed to feces, rotting meat, maggots, used syringes, medical waste, asbestos and blood products. Federal statistics also show that sanitation workers are more likely to die on the job than a firefighter or police officer.