The fight between striking Massachusetts sanitation workers and the waste-management giant that employs them has entered a third week with no apparent signs either side is closer to making a deal.

Local officials from impacted communities were joined earlier this week by Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin and members of the Boston City Council in calling for Republic Services to negotiate an end to the work stoppage which began on July 1.

A federal mediator was scheduled to meet with members of the Teamsters Local 25 and the trash company providing garbage services in more than a dozen Bay State cities and towns on Tuesday. Ahead of that meeting, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio and State Treasurer Deb Goldberg both urged the company to get their act together and get the about 450 striking local workers back on the job.

In a letter addressed to Republic Services President Jon Vander Ark, Goldberg said that the work done by the Teamsters “is indispensable to the health, safety, and economic well-being of Greater Boston, the North Shore, and surrounding communities.”

Despite the fact the company has brought in outside workers, Goldberg said the strike poses real risks to the affected municipalities.

“These men and women keep households, small businesses, schools, and construction sites operating smoothly through reliable waste and recycling services—work that, if disrupted, imposes real financial costs on municipalities, burdens taxpayers, and undermines local businesses that rely on consistent, safe service every day,” she wrote.

The Treasurer said the fact that the company didn’t make the union an offer they were willing to accept before their contract expired “is troubling.” The company didn’t, she said, meet “basic expectations for fair wages, comprehensive benefits, safe working conditions, and reasonable paid time off” before the work stoppage began.

DiZoglio noted the company’s annual profits and the CEO’s yearly more-than $12 million in compensation, and said that she’s “disturbed” a Fortune 500 company couldn’t come up with a pay and benefits plan that kept the trash trucks rolling without disruption.

“Accordingly, I urge Republic Services to immediately return to the bargaining table and reach a contract that reflects the commitment of these workers and meets the expectations of the communities you serve,” she wrote.

Republic Services responded to the letters by referring the Herald to a previous statement from the company, in which they defended the offerings they’ve made thus far — a nearly 16% raise immediately and 43% over five years — and said that it is the union who is not negotiating in good faith.

“When a wage proposal this significant is combined with zero-premium healthcare and generous retirement contributions, there is no question who is responsible for this ongoing strike: Teamsters Local 25 and its president Tom Mari. It is time for the Teamsters to get serious about negotiations so our employees can return to work,” they said.