By George P. Hassett

Teamsters faced off with a specially-trained police unit underneath McGrath Highway Thursday after union picketers padlocked the gate of F.W. Russell Disposal and parked a tractor trailer in front of the entrance of the waste business.

Close to 100 Teamsters from Local 25 and 70 police officers dressed in riot gear with wooden sticks in hand pushed each other back and forth as police removed the padlock from the gate. Minor scuffles broke out in the crowd and 10 Teamsters were arrested “for rude, offensive and threatening conduct,” according to police.

Charles Carneglia, owner of Russell Disposal, said Local 25 has been trying to unionize his employees for three weeks. A vote among Russell employees to join Local 25 failed by a wide margin and the union responded by picketing on Thursday, he said.

Carneglia said as he walked past the picket line early Thursday morning one Teamster slashed his jeans with a knife while another pulled out a gun and pointed it at his chest. In response, Carneglia said he reached down to his ankle and pulled out his own gun.

“That’s when all the tough guys backed off and I walked into work,” he said. In an interview with The Somerville News Carneglia lifted his pants leg, showed his gun and said, “I’m not afraid of the union.”

Local 25 President Sean O’Brien said he was “too busy” to speak with The Somerville News when reached by a reporter on Thursday. He failed to return repeated phone calls later in the week.

One Local 25 man, who would not give his name, said there was never a weapon pulled out at the picket line but Carneglia sliced his own jeans as he was climbing over a fence to avoid Teamsters and get into the Russell yard.

Russell Disposal handles trash pick up for Somerville and other cities and towns. Carneglia said Local 25 targeted him after Russell won the bid to collect trash in Revere.

“The Big Dig is over now. These guys lost their bread and butter so they’re coming after me. But I pay my guys $3 to $5 more an hour than they would get with Local 25,” he said.

Local 25 picketers remained at Russell for the next two days without incident. However, when Carneglia walked to front gate the Teamsters would begin taunting and catcalling him. 

“Ya piece of shit,” yelled one picketer Thursday afternoon. “You’re a criminal.”

The 10 Teamsters arrested were released later the same day after being arraigned in Somerville District Court.

O’Brien and Local 25 have accused Russell of exploiting immigrant labor. The six Russell employees who protested with the Teamsters were described by Carneglia as Hispanic and “not fitting in with the clan.”

At one point during the skirmish Thursday morning Carneglia donned an oversized red sombrero and stomped on discarded picket signs.

Picketers were quiet Friday and did not show up on Saturday despite rumors that busses would be bringing in Teamsters by the hundreds. A few hours after the dispute on Thursday about a dozen police on the scene, dressed in bullet proof vests and wearing goggles over their eyes, milled around underneath McGrath Highway making conversation with one another.

On Friday a Russell employee, Michael Lewis, of Dorchester, was arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon after he allegedly approached Local 25 picketers with a knife.

The 10 Teamsters arrested for disorderly conduct were: Francis Barrett, 53, of 139 White Pond Road, Peabody, Gerald Godin, 41, of 30 Nolte Road, Billerica, Keven Kelleher, 47, of 8 Greenough Ave., Jamaica Plain, Thomas Mari, 36, of 46 Merrimac St., Thomas O’Toole, 42, of 16 Lois Drive, Walpole, Patrick Palmisano, 36, of 7 Plymouth Road, Peabody, David Pietroforte, 50, of 33 Whittier Road, Billerica, Luis Rodriguez, 36, of 32A Everett St., Woburn, Robert Wright, 35, of 245 Roosevelt Road, Weymouth and Steven South, 33, of 98 School St., Braintree. They were all released without bail on personal recognizance.