Waste Management garbage-truck drivers’ strike: No pickups today

| Utilities | West Seattle news

Though West Seattle’s next major wave of potential effects won’t hit until Monday (after some missed pickups here yesterday), if you’re keeping track, the city followed up last night’s “Thursday pickups, put your trash out” advisory with a “no Thursday pickups after all” advisory this morning. Waste Management is also keeping day-by-day updates on its website – no trash or recyclables today, but they advise customers they can put out up to twice the normal amount on their next pickup day. They have said they intend to bring in replacement drivers, but a WM spokesperson told the Seattle Times (WSB partner) that their contingency plan would take a few days to be up and running. No word so far of any new negotiations.

trashed April 22, 2010 (4:27 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 lowering the standard of living for Seattle.

Kristina April 22, 2010 (4:52 pm)

This would be a good time to cut down on our garbage production, don’t you think? Switch to cloth napkins, rags instead of paper towels, reusable water bottles instead of plastic. Stop buying stuff with lots of packaging. When asked “paper or plastic” say “I’ve got my own bags.” Use sealed containers instead of sandwich bags. Buy fewer processed foods and more whole foods (apples don’t come with packaging!). When we started doing that a couple of years ago, we cut our garbage down by 2/3rds. It’s worth a try – because it works. I figure that we’re okay for three weeks in a garbage strike before our can will be full.

PO'd April 22, 2010 (5:07 pm)

These strikers should cross the picket line immediately or be replaced forever. This strike is offensive to everyone who is out of work or just happy to have a job that pays one-quarter of what the Waste Management teamsters are crying about. Is $109,000 a year really not enough to drive a garbage truck? I’ll be sure to put something extra smelly in my garbage cans next week, assuming you cry babies ever get back to work.

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