The Milwaukee garbage strike will continue at least until Sunday, after the members of Teamsters Union Local 200 rejected a modified version of a "last, best and final" contract offer by Waste Management of Wisconsin today.

Sources said the 240 members of Local 200 will meet again on Sunday at 11 a.m. to vote upon the company's original "last, best and final" offer.

The company has set a deadline of Sunday at 4 p.m. for the Teamsters to accept the offer.

If the Teamsters reject that offer Sunday, Waste Management will pull the offer on the table and proposed a new offer that will not be as lucrative for the workers, company spokeswoman Lynn Morgan told SBT today.

"It will be modified to reduce the wage increases and health benefits that were in the original offer," Morgan said.

The company also has "begun the process" of finding permanent replacement workers, Morgan said.

Members of Local 200 have been on strike since Aug. 26.

Waste Management's proposed five-year contract would cover drivers, equipment operators and mechanics represented by Teamsters Local 200. The company said the offer includes significant wage increases, along with an improved health plan, double-time pay on Sundays and holidays, and increased tool and uniform allowances.

The package also would create a new 401(k) defined contribution pension plan and would relieve the company of obligations to the Teamsters-led Central States Pension Fund.

After today's vote, Teamsters Local 200 secretary-treasurer Tom Millonzi issued the following statement:

"Today, our members on strike against Waste Management voted down the company's latest contract proposal. It was a unanimous vote to reject this proposal. Our members chose not to vote for a contract that replaces their retirement's defined benefit program with a 401(k) plan. This corporate giant is at this very moment trying to purchase another waste competitor for approximately $7 billion, to capture even more market share. Yet they refuse to spend the dollars needed to secure the already earned retirement benefits of the very workers that make this company successful. We have offered to meet with the company at any time and at any place in order to resolve this contract. There is a Sunday, Sept. 21, 4 p.m. Central time deadline set by the company to accept the original last and final offer before the company pulls that offer off the table and replaces it with one that is inferior."

Waste Management provides garbage and recyclable refuse collection services to communities throughout southeastern Wisconsin. The company has tried to use temporary workers and other staff to keep up with collection schedules, but has had difficulty keeping up with the need of garbage collections for commercial customers, Morgan said.