Buss_Driver
mmm, donuts
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2002
- Posts
- 36
From the Chicago Tribune:
By Bennie M. Currie
The Associated Press
Published October 1, 2003, 3:29 PM CDT
Roughly 3,300 garbage workers in Chicago and its suburbs went on strike today after contract talks between union and management officials broke down, leaving millions of residential and business customers without trash pickup.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters called the strike one minute after the previous contract expired at midnight Tuesday. Negotiations continued but were halted around 2:30 a.m. when a lockout was declared by the Chicago Area Refuse Haulers Association, the bargaining agent for the Chicago area's 16 largest private waste disposal companies.
``The walkout includes trash haulers and drivers of transfer trailer trucks,'' said Bill Plunkett, spokesman for the Refuse Haulers Association. ``Waste has to be transported miles and miles outside the city. Without transfer drivers, the system's going to be backed up within a couple of days.''
Negotiators remained at odds over wages and benefits, with talks scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Millions of residents and business owners were affected by the work stoppage, including commercial and industrial customers and multifamily buildings of more than four units apiece in Chicago. Residents of smaller apartment buildings and single-family homes in Chicago are serviced by municipal workers and were not affected by the strike.
``We just hope it's going to be settled,'' said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who would not say whether the city would get involved. ``Everybody wants it to be settled. It has to be settled for the health and safety of people.''
Management personnel stepped in to provide ``critical services,'' such as trash pickup for hospitals and O'Hare International Airport, Plunkett said. Garbage collection companies otherwise had no contingency plans in place, he said.
Both sides confirmed that management's latest offer called for a five-year contract with a wage increase of 80 cents per hour in the first year, raises of 75 cents per hour in the next three years and 70 cents per hour in the final year.
``But those increases do not even cover the maintenance costs of health insurance benefits,'' Teamsters spokesman Brian Rainville said. ``So basically, this amounts to a wage freeze and a cut in health benefits.''
The union was seeking a three-year package that included hourly wage increases of $2 in the first year, $2.15 the next year and $2.40 in the third, Rainville said, adding that workers currently are paid between $10 and $21 an hour.
(upwards of 53 hours per week according to one worker who averages $66K per year without a college degree, extensive training & background checks, or stringent medical qualifications)
``Most of them are closer to $21,'' Plunkett said. ``The Teamsters have been asking for an agreement that would increase their wages and benefits by over 30 percent. That's completely out of line with other contracts in other markets, not in line with today's economy and it would punish our customers.''
The striking garbage collectors service a densely populated portion of northern Illinois that stretches as far south as the Kankakee County border and as far north as the Wisconsin border.
(and it will work because the end-user has no alternatives)
Officials in several municipalities asked residents affected by the strike not to put their garbage out at the curb to avoid attracting rodents and other pests.
Meanwhile, restaurant owners were advised to separate food from cardboard, cans and other nonperishable items that could be safely stored until garbage pickup resumes, said Colleen McShane, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
By Bennie M. Currie
The Associated Press
Published October 1, 2003, 3:29 PM CDT
Roughly 3,300 garbage workers in Chicago and its suburbs went on strike today after contract talks between union and management officials broke down, leaving millions of residential and business customers without trash pickup.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters called the strike one minute after the previous contract expired at midnight Tuesday. Negotiations continued but were halted around 2:30 a.m. when a lockout was declared by the Chicago Area Refuse Haulers Association, the bargaining agent for the Chicago area's 16 largest private waste disposal companies.
``The walkout includes trash haulers and drivers of transfer trailer trucks,'' said Bill Plunkett, spokesman for the Refuse Haulers Association. ``Waste has to be transported miles and miles outside the city. Without transfer drivers, the system's going to be backed up within a couple of days.''
Negotiators remained at odds over wages and benefits, with talks scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Millions of residents and business owners were affected by the work stoppage, including commercial and industrial customers and multifamily buildings of more than four units apiece in Chicago. Residents of smaller apartment buildings and single-family homes in Chicago are serviced by municipal workers and were not affected by the strike.
``We just hope it's going to be settled,'' said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who would not say whether the city would get involved. ``Everybody wants it to be settled. It has to be settled for the health and safety of people.''
Management personnel stepped in to provide ``critical services,'' such as trash pickup for hospitals and O'Hare International Airport, Plunkett said. Garbage collection companies otherwise had no contingency plans in place, he said.
Both sides confirmed that management's latest offer called for a five-year contract with a wage increase of 80 cents per hour in the first year, raises of 75 cents per hour in the next three years and 70 cents per hour in the final year.
``But those increases do not even cover the maintenance costs of health insurance benefits,'' Teamsters spokesman Brian Rainville said. ``So basically, this amounts to a wage freeze and a cut in health benefits.''
The union was seeking a three-year package that included hourly wage increases of $2 in the first year, $2.15 the next year and $2.40 in the third, Rainville said, adding that workers currently are paid between $10 and $21 an hour.
(upwards of 53 hours per week according to one worker who averages $66K per year without a college degree, extensive training & background checks, or stringent medical qualifications)
``Most of them are closer to $21,'' Plunkett said. ``The Teamsters have been asking for an agreement that would increase their wages and benefits by over 30 percent. That's completely out of line with other contracts in other markets, not in line with today's economy and it would punish our customers.''
The striking garbage collectors service a densely populated portion of northern Illinois that stretches as far south as the Kankakee County border and as far north as the Wisconsin border.
(and it will work because the end-user has no alternatives)
Officials in several municipalities asked residents affected by the strike not to put their garbage out at the curb to avoid attracting rodents and other pests.
Meanwhile, restaurant owners were advised to separate food from cardboard, cans and other nonperishable items that could be safely stored until garbage pickup resumes, said Colleen McShane, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
