Well busyman, if there are uneducated idiots waiting in lines for "the decent job of trash removal" where are they? They aren't in line for these jobs because they can't handle the job. It requires 8 to 10 usually more like 12 hours of constant, heavy lifting, supreme physical stamina and endurance, a CDL license and you have to be drug free. There aren't people lined up because there are very few that can do the job in the first place. Regarding the pension and 401k dispute, the company would have to give these guys hefty raises in order for them to even have $5 to contribute to a 401k, they Don't make the big bucks of old anymore. The company doesn't want to give them anything. Theses guys already pay for their medical, they Don't get standard overtime, it's coefficient overtime which equals half time for everything over 40. So, they have a right to defend their pensions, since they have been squeezed everywhere else.
The drivers are back to work as of this morning and they are running their designated routes just like they did before the picket lines were set up. Everyone's trash will be picked up as scheduled and they have to be given some slack since they didn't have a choice in the matter. They had to honor the picket lines or lose their jobs altogether. Recycling is not quite the same as trash. Be thankful this hasn't gone on longer than it has already.
Since when can the solvency of a pension plan be given a predetermined date? This strike is not about that pension plan alone. Your trash will get picked up eventually, maybe a few days late, but it will get picked up. For all the readers of the Vindicator out there, this strike has nothing to do with the above mentioned "pension plan" at all. Briefly noted in this article is the real reason for the strike- unfair labor practices, which the company has yet to address. Also, FYI these employees can't be fired for striking.They are union members and that's illegal if the company did that.
Another thing, as for the pension, the last I heard even Nostradamus was wrong on his predictions, so what makes the company right on their prediction that the pension will dissolve when they say it will?It's because they want the pension to dissolve.They made over $149 million in one quarter (that's $149 million over their profits from last year) & say that the pension will dissolve & their employees will have nothing unless they join the 401k. they can't predict the solvency of a pension fund what makes them predict that the stock market won't crash?I think these guys have a right to stand up for their pension, gone are the days of a garbage man making 6 figures.Those days went south when BFI was bought by Allied Waste & those drivers had to retire because they put in their 30+ years.So, since you know all about being a garbage man at Republic Services/Allied Waste, get hired & put in some time & then we'll talk.I don't see things the same as some of you & I may sound bitter, it's because I am & my husband is one of these drivers picking up your trash & fighting for his job!Remember there are 2 sides to every story, it's funny the company has been on the local news already & there is this article in the paper, no one would have known the contract was up if the company would spend it's time negotiating with the drivers instead of getting air time.
Every night the garbage truck pulls up in front of a house-it's noisy, that's to prevent people from hitting the truck & getting killed or hitting/killing the garbage man, it's for safety. These guys would love to be home in bed like you.They work in all weather. You throw away anything you want & they take it, incl. your needles, bottles, dirty diapers, tampons, maxi pads, dog crap, dirty cat litter, etc.They run the risk of injury because of your stupidity, broken glass cutting garbage bags, containers of driveway sealant exploding in their faces because you didn't dispose of it properly, your carpet rolls with nails sticking out, your improvement projects with nails, your nasty toilets, need I go on?Do you know the piles of trash that are left week after week? The heavy lifting at every house they stop in front of?$43,000/year sounds great, but these guys are on 1 man routes, & they don't get help!They drive & they throw trash with no help.They don't get an hourly wage like you think, they get paid per stop. Remember this-they show up every week to haul off your trash & they get 35 cents to pick up all your crap.They have at min. 500 houses they have to pick up.Not only do they have to be at their best to watch out for you driving down the road, they have to watch for the school buses, the mailman, the Fedex driver, the UPS driver & every other person on the road. These guys don't get overtime, they get coefficient overtime which means they get half time, they don't get time & a half they get the half.So if they average $15 per hour & they work 50 hours they get paid for $15 per hour for the first 40 hours & then they get $7.50 for each hour over 40.Also, when a holiday comes around, unlike the mail you don't receive, your trash is still picked up.There is always 5 days of trash, it may be a day late because of the holiday but it's still picked up.These drivers work min. of 10 hrs/day most work around 11 or 12, they don't get to work in buildings with heat or air.All drivers are required to have a current CDL & be drug free. If you think "any" one can do this job, try it, most new hires don't last a week because the job is too hard, it's too heavy, it's too cold, the roads are too bad, they can't pass the drug test, etc.It looks real easy from your living room window. that time of day Monday - Friday about mid-day where you get to clock out & have yourself a nice lunch?Well these guys don't get a lunch break, they eat on the run or pull over & scarf down their food so they can get moving or keep moving to get their work done.There is no "I"ll get that trash tomorrow because I didn't have time to get to it today" they work until their route is done.
Allied Waste strike expands
Well busyman, if there are uneducated idiots waiting in lines for "the decent job of trash removal" where are they? They aren't in line for these jobs because they can't handle the job. It requires 8 to 10 usually more like 12 hours of constant, heavy lifting, supreme physical stamina and endurance, a CDL license and you have to be drug free. There aren't people lined up because there are very few that can do the job in the first place. Regarding the pension and 401k dispute, the company would have to give these guys hefty raises in order for them to even have $5 to contribute to a 401k, they Don't make the big bucks of old anymore. The company doesn't want to give them anything. Theses guys already pay for their medical, they Don't get standard overtime, it's coefficient overtime which equals half time for everything over 40. So, they have a right to defend their pensions, since they have been squeezed everywhere else.
April 16, 2013 at 8:18 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Allied strike spreads to Cleveland-area
The drivers are back to work as of this morning and they are running their designated routes just like they did before the picket lines were set up. Everyone's trash will be picked up as scheduled and they have to be given some slack since they didn't have a choice in the matter. They had to honor the picket lines or lose their jobs altogether. Recycling is not quite the same as trash. Be thankful this hasn't gone on longer than it has already.
April 3, 2013 at 12:52 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Strike at Allied Waste continues
Since when can the solvency of a pension plan be given a predetermined date? This strike is not about that pension plan alone. Your trash will get picked up eventually, maybe a few days late, but it will get picked up. For all the readers of the Vindicator out there, this strike has nothing to do with the above mentioned "pension plan" at all. Briefly noted in this article is the real reason for the strike- unfair labor practices, which the company has yet to address. Also, FYI these employees can't be fired for striking.They are union members and that's illegal if the company did that.
March 30, 2013 at 7:50 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Teamsters, Allied Waste remain at an impasse
Another thing, as for the pension, the last I heard even Nostradamus was wrong on his predictions, so what makes the company right on their prediction that the pension will dissolve when they say it will?It's because they want the pension to dissolve.They made over $149 million in one quarter (that's $149 million over their profits from last year) & say that the pension will dissolve & their employees will have nothing unless they join the 401k. they can't predict the solvency of a pension fund what makes them predict that the stock market won't crash?I think these guys have a right to stand up for their pension, gone are the days of a garbage man making 6 figures.Those days went south when BFI was bought by Allied Waste & those drivers had to retire because they put in their 30+ years.So, since you know all about being a garbage man at Republic Services/Allied Waste, get hired & put in some time & then we'll talk.I don't see things the same as some of you & I may sound bitter, it's because I am & my husband is one of these drivers picking up your trash & fighting for his job!Remember there are 2 sides to every story, it's funny the company has been on the local news already & there is this article in the paper, no one would have known the contract was up if the company would spend it's time negotiating with the drivers instead of getting air time.
November 2, 2012 at 3:26 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Teamsters, Allied Waste remain at an impasse
Every night the garbage truck pulls up in front of a house-it's noisy, that's to prevent people from hitting the truck & getting killed or hitting/killing the garbage man, it's for safety. These guys would love to be home in bed like you.They work in all weather. You throw away anything you want & they take it, incl. your needles, bottles, dirty diapers, tampons, maxi pads, dog crap, dirty cat litter, etc.They run the risk of injury because of your stupidity, broken glass cutting garbage bags, containers of driveway sealant exploding in their faces because you didn't dispose of it properly, your carpet rolls with nails sticking out, your improvement projects with nails, your nasty toilets, need I go on?Do you know the piles of trash that are left week after week? The heavy lifting at every house they stop in front of?$43,000/year sounds great, but these guys are on 1 man routes, & they don't get help!They drive & they throw trash with no help.They don't get an hourly wage like you think, they get paid per stop. Remember this-they show up every week to haul off your trash & they get 35 cents to pick up all your crap.They have at min. 500 houses they have to pick up.Not only do they have to be at their best to watch out for you driving down the road, they have to watch for the school buses, the mailman, the Fedex driver, the UPS driver & every other person on the road. These guys don't get overtime, they get coefficient overtime which means they get half time, they don't get time & a half they get the half.So if they average $15 per hour & they work 50 hours they get paid for $15 per hour for the first 40 hours & then they get $7.50 for each hour over 40.Also, when a holiday comes around, unlike the mail you don't receive, your trash is still picked up.There is always 5 days of trash, it may be a day late because of the holiday but it's still picked up.These drivers work min. of 10 hrs/day most work around 11 or 12, they don't get to work in buildings with heat or air.All drivers are required to have a current CDL & be drug free. If you think "any" one can do this job, try it, most new hires don't last a week because the job is too hard, it's too heavy, it's too cold, the roads are too bad, they can't pass the drug test, etc.It looks real easy from your living room window. that time of day Monday - Friday about mid-day where you get to clock out & have yourself a nice lunch?Well these guys don't get a lunch break, they eat on the run or pull over & scarf down their food so they can get moving or keep moving to get their work done.There is no "I"ll get that trash tomorrow because I didn't have time to get to it today" they work until their route is done.
November 2, 2012 at 3:25 p.m. permalink suggest removal