Garbage strike: City tells Thursday pickups, put trash out

Quick update re: the garbage strike: The city has issued a request that if you have Thursday pickup, DO put it out tomorrow. If your pickup was missed today, put it out NEXT Wednesday, they request. 10:21 PM: West Seattle is all Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday, per the map above, which is linked from the garbage-strike info box at the top of seattle.gov. According to the updated story from our regional-news partners at the Seattle Times, Waste Management says it may take “several days” for its strike-contingency plan – using replacement workers – to fully kick in. However, the WM website says “regular service expected tomorrow.”

Ms Evelyn April 21, 2010 (8:48 pm)

Glad my garbage pickup day was on Monday!

Scrappy April 21, 2010 (9:15 pm)

How do we tell waste management, or the city, that we support the union? I don’t want to put my garbage out for SCABS to pick up… I will take it to the dump on my own

trashed April 21, 2010 (9:42 pm)

Waste Management has nothing to complain about. Their profits are guaranteed, and they raise their price for us every year.

Call Duane Woods, their West Division VP, now at (480) 419-6140 and tell him that we don’t want him short changing our dedicated garbage collectors.

Brian April 21, 2010 (9:57 pm)

To support the workers, you can go to seattletrashwatch.com, or check out the article “SUPPORT STRIKING AREA SANITATION WORKERS” on Teamsters local 117 page. Im not a sanitation employee, but i too work hard to support my family. These folks deserve what they’re asking for.

Confused April 21, 2010 (11:08 pm)

I suport workers but I’m really confused. These workers turn down $110K a year!!! I do not understand why they are paid so much for doing what they do. I see the cans being picked up by the metal arms of the trucks. Once empty the workers don’t even put the cans back where they got them nor do they put the lids on always. Why are they paid soooooooo much? At least they have jobs. It just seems there is something wrong with this picture.

Know the facts April 22, 2010 (12:09 am)

Confused~~

You habe to know the facts and remember that number came from WM themselves. It is inflated, includes wages (AND overtime which is never a for sure thing) and benefits and retirement. But again it is INFLATED!!
Not to mention what you are seeing is a SMALL part of what they do! You are MORE likely to be killed on the job than police and fire. Are exposed to maggots, feces, used needles, etc! And if your injured they attempt to fire you.

Remember this us a company that says they can not give good contract in “thesr tough economic times”… I don’t know about you but my garbage bill has continued to go up NOT DOWN! They showed a profit of a billion dollars!

So please just know the facts.

old timer April 22, 2010 (12:42 am)

Well, what are the facts?
Do we have a copy of the disputed contract to review?

ivan April 22, 2010 (5:20 am)

Confused:

The $110K figure that Waste Management puts out is the total compensation package. It includes the money WM pays per employee for health insurance and pension contributions.
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Moreover, that represents the top scale, not the starting scale. Most garbage haulers don’t get the top scale because their bodies give out before they get there.
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They do work that most people will not do, and most people CAN’T do. Despite mechanization, there is plenty of lifting, pushing and pulling on this job. Add to that the forced overtime, and it’s plain to see that fatigue, and the pressure to finish a route, soon become factors in injuries.
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These employees could be just a strain, a sprain, or a muscle pull away from not being able to work. If one of those workplace injuries becomes chronic, they’re finished. Their active working lives in this industry are mostly short.
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All the ignorant blowhards who support WM and its scabs should try doing this work for a week, or even a day, and they’d soon see what makes the salaries as high as they are. I wouldn’t do this work, and I wouldn’t work in a coal mine either. That’s why I support the Teamsters in this strike.
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WM wanted to force them into a contract that would allow unilateral cuts in salaries and benefits at any time, without bargaining. Who in their right mind would sign such a thing? WM has provoked this strike, and they deserve no support,
none whatever.

nunya April 22, 2010 (8:00 am)

It is quite confusing and I really have not seen any facts. Please correct me if I am wrong, the collectors never voted on the contract, WMI’s final offer was rejected by union leadership and never presented for a vote. Yet Allied has settled, but does anyone know what they settled for? Sounds like some sort of sweetheart agreement ot put pressure on WMI. Why didn’t they all go out on strike? What does the new carrier “Cleancapes” have in the way of union contract, or are they non-union. I just find it interesting that north of the ship canal, (magnolia, windermere, etc) they still have service and are not affected by the strike. I think we are all pawns in some bigger behind the scenes game to take business away from WMI and their employees and shift it to someone else. But I could wrong, well either way rates are going up!

Carson April 22, 2010 (8:27 am)

Starting wages for a driver is $29 an hour, plus benefits.

A April 22, 2010 (8:36 am)

My question is why did we get a new recycling container on Monday!? Nothing was wrong with our old one. We didn’t ask for a new one. And to be honest, it looks slightly smaller. Did anyone else get a new blue recycling container recently?

joe April 22, 2010 (8:39 am)

of corse rates are going up look what thay r paying these guys and tons r down

arbor April 22, 2010 (8:51 am)

Waste Management CEO David P. Steiner was compensated $5.5 million dollars in 2009. That’s our utility bill money, going into the pocket of some desk jockey in Houston, while we quibble about paying our hardworking neighbors a living wage. Why don’t we demand they tighten old David’s belt in these tough economic times?
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Nobody likes going on strike, but Waste Management refused to play fair. The City should put pressure on Waste Management to do the right thing and return to the bargaining table, or risk losing our lucrative contract to another corporation which will provide us service.
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BTW I don’t know anyone personally affected by this strike, nor am I a union member. I’m a self-employed WS resident who supports the workers in this issue.

me April 22, 2010 (9:00 am)

waste managment is the bigist waste to energy co in the world any other energy co oil or other fuel make billions in profit per quarter not year and there leaders make 15to20 million per year we pay it at the pumps 29 bucks hour is fair and a lot of money i make a lot less that that and have been with the company for 8 years but my job is grate and i love my company to bad the unions don,t

Gina April 22, 2010 (9:42 am)

There may be picket lines at the transfer stations.

SHA households are still getting their trash picked up, so make friends with your neighbors!

WSB April 22, 2010 (9:47 am)

Good point. That explains the “square” in the High Point area on the map that we featured last night – TR

HSG April 22, 2010 (11:06 am)

TR, the blank square on the map is the golf coarse not High Point.

Chris April 22, 2010 (11:43 am)

Just don’t infer some symbol of “fur us” or “agin us” based on whether or not my trash cans are outside on my pickup day. As a resident of Seattle, I’m entitled to and pay for weekly trash/etc. pickup, so my cans will be outside. It has nothing to do with a labor dispute between the contracted companies and their employees.

If you want to make a stink about it (no pun intended), go ahead. Just don’t assume-and-retaliate against the rest of us. Not interested in playing.

Sorry, comment time is over.