Trash service to resume for some as transfer stations open to public
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SEATTLE -- Waste Management will resume pickup service for some residential customers on Wednesday, a company spokesperson said.
The company added it has hired an ample number of replacement drivers, some of them on a permanent basis. Spokeswoman Robin Freedman said Waste Management was taking its best candidates from a recent job fair and running recruitment ads.
Garbage truck drivers did not cross the picket lines and chose instead to strike in solidarity, which they are allowed to do under their contract.
The strike is affecting 217,000 customers in King and Snohomish counties, and the union extended picketing Tuesday to a Waste Management facility in Burlington.
The recycling and yard waste drivers had been working without a contract since the end of May. The two sides began negotiating in June, but talks crumbled when the union rejected Waste Management's "last, best and final offer."
As the strike continues on, tensions are mounting for customers and strikers alike.
"It's sad to see overfilled bins. It's, to me and everybody else, disgusting and pretty smelly," said lead recycle driver Andy Young.
In that six-year proposal, the company offered an average annual salary between $58,000 and $68,000. If benefits are included, the offer is worth $98,000 a year to a driver at the end of the sixth year, the company said.
Waste Management said it would resume negotiations once workers abort the strike, but union members said they will not return to work until they are presented with an acceptable offer.
"Well, we want our drivers to come back, but today we have made the decision to hire permanent replacement drivers. We have an obligation to service our communities," Freedman said.
The replacement drivers hired by Waste Management have been focusing on commercial customers like restaurants.
Residential customers in Algona, Auburn, Bothell, Federal Way, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mill Creek, Redmond, Renton and Seattle who are normally serviced on Wednesdays will have their garbage picked up on Wednesday. Waste Management also urged customers to check its website for the latest update.
The news came the same day Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn ordered Seattle Public Utilities to open garbage transfer stations to the public at no charge.
Transfer stations will be open to single-family residents in Waste Management's service areas whose trash and recyclables have been piling up as a result of the drivers' week-long strike.
Residents may drop off up to six bags of trash for free at both north and south transfer stations, which are open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week.
McGinn said the city is investigating Waste Management for potential violations of its service agreement, and may fine the company up to $1.25 million for each day of missed service.
"Every penny that we collect from Waste Management in fines will be returned to our customers as reductions to their bill," he said in a released statement.
The north transfer station is located at 1350 N. 34th St., and the south station can be found at 8105 Fifth Ave. S. Customers are urged to drop off trash before 2 p.m. to avoid lines. Identification is required to verify residency.
Both stations are equipped with live web cams that show the wait line:
View north station web cam >>>
View south station web cam >>>
The company added it has hired an ample number of replacement drivers, some of them on a permanent basis. Spokeswoman Robin Freedman said Waste Management was taking its best candidates from a recent job fair and running recruitment ads.
Garbage truck drivers did not cross the picket lines and chose instead to strike in solidarity, which they are allowed to do under their contract.
The strike is affecting 217,000 customers in King and Snohomish counties, and the union extended picketing Tuesday to a Waste Management facility in Burlington.
The recycling and yard waste drivers had been working without a contract since the end of May. The two sides began negotiating in June, but talks crumbled when the union rejected Waste Management's "last, best and final offer."
As the strike continues on, tensions are mounting for customers and strikers alike.
"It's sad to see overfilled bins. It's, to me and everybody else, disgusting and pretty smelly," said lead recycle driver Andy Young.
In that six-year proposal, the company offered an average annual salary between $58,000 and $68,000. If benefits are included, the offer is worth $98,000 a year to a driver at the end of the sixth year, the company said.
Waste Management said it would resume negotiations once workers abort the strike, but union members said they will not return to work until they are presented with an acceptable offer.
"Well, we want our drivers to come back, but today we have made the decision to hire permanent replacement drivers. We have an obligation to service our communities," Freedman said.
The replacement drivers hired by Waste Management have been focusing on commercial customers like restaurants.
Residential customers in Algona, Auburn, Bothell, Federal Way, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mill Creek, Redmond, Renton and Seattle who are normally serviced on Wednesdays will have their garbage picked up on Wednesday. Waste Management also urged customers to check its website for the latest update.
The news came the same day Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn ordered Seattle Public Utilities to open garbage transfer stations to the public at no charge.
Transfer stations will be open to single-family residents in Waste Management's service areas whose trash and recyclables have been piling up as a result of the drivers' week-long strike.
Residents may drop off up to six bags of trash for free at both north and south transfer stations, which are open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week.
McGinn said the city is investigating Waste Management for potential violations of its service agreement, and may fine the company up to $1.25 million for each day of missed service.
"Every penny that we collect from Waste Management in fines will be returned to our customers as reductions to their bill," he said in a released statement.
The north transfer station is located at 1350 N. 34th St., and the south station can be found at 8105 Fifth Ave. S. Customers are urged to drop off trash before 2 p.m. to avoid lines. Identification is required to verify residency.
Both stations are equipped with live web cams that show the wait line:
View north station web cam >>>
View south station web cam >>>
I urge everyone to call your local city board and make a complaint against Waste Management for not refunding customers for the 2 weeks that trash service was missed. Waste Management refuses to give customers a credit for the last two weeks of missed service yet they are still billing customers for those 2 weeks of trash service not performed --- that is fraud. Waste Management owes all of the customers in the Seattle area a refund for each week of trash pick up they did not perform as their customers are billed for a weekly service. I live in Lake Stevens and I am forced to use Waste Managment because the City of Lake Stevens has a 10 year exclusive contract in place with them...because of this I do not have the option of cancelling my trash service with them and instead start using Allied Waste. Waste Management continues to rip off their customers by billing them for services not performed ......people need to start contacting the city they live in and make a complaint & request that the city cancel their contract with Waste Management on this basis. During this strike Waste Management has bilked their customers out of hundreds and thousands of dollars for fees related to services not performed....I think a class action lawsuit is in order to refund the public for these fees Waste Management refuses to refund them for.
These comments are directed purely at the unethical billing practices being made by Waste Management and have nothing to do with the Teamsters Union - it is clearly a simple fact of refunding customers for services not rendered as a result of the strike.
. Â Hey, Mr. or Ms. Theory X, YOU are living in the dark ages. Have you not noticed that there are very few people in our entire world that hold MOST of the wealth? Is it really your pleasure to see hard working people kicked to the curb, leaving their life in ruins because of a bias action by owner or corporation? WE NEED ORGANIZED LABOR!!!!!! It is the ONLY check and balance that will keep our country prosperous and the land of the free. Don't start pointing fingers at organized labor as mobsters. We're not. There may have been a time when the mombs and gangstas were part of the movement back in the 30's and 40's, but that was because our government was not willing to take sides with the laborers. Times have changed so catch up to the real times of now and support the hard working unions.
 @runAmuk Sorry runAmuk, you're the one still living in the dark ages. Corporations are not some evil creatures trying to destroy the world, they are organizations made up of many people who are responsible for showing a profit to their shareholders. The shareholders of these large corporation are millions of people, many of whom have invested stakes through their retirement plans, making the profitability of these companies paramount in the success of our future.Â
I've been a member of the Teamsters before and they represent an antiquated model of inefficiency that rewards and protects the worst of the workers. Companies will pay a wage that gets them the best talent for the job regardless if a union is present or not. Your skills make you more valuable, not the union.Â
The Waste management workers who are on strike should go back to their jobs before they're replaced for good. You were getting a fair wage before the strike and they have offered from what I have read a reasonable contract.Â
I take what they offer me. I'm not greey like other people.
I need a Job. I work with or without a contract. What is more important? Have a job & geting paid or going on Stake & no food or pay your bills.
You might want to think of climbing in your truck and driving while you still have a job. And while your crossing the line you might as well stop paying your union dues and take the raise.
Please note: The operative word here is "WORKING". They are WORKING without a contract. HELLO. They have a job! Many people don't even have a job, let alone a contract, so I can promise that nobody cares about their lack of a contract here. Man, get a clue. Get a life!Â
It would be like a dream come true to find out all the employees names and bring all of our trash to their houses.Just sayin'.
I think the public should strike and not pay their bills until they are lowered and all the trash strikers are permanently replaced.
I have one question for the people who are affected by this strike. Is WM going to not charge you for the period when you don't receive your trash/recycle pick up?
The idea that public unions can strike anytime they want, and NEVER ONCE be held responsible for what occurs when they aren't doing their jobs as we provide for with this secure, family wage job; is one obvious mistake who's time has come. The public anticipate that (insert public service job) will be done; and the public plan accordingly.Â
-Maybe a class action is going to be needed.Â
Screwing your townspeople's lives around anytime someone isn't getting what they think they should is a real substantial cost when looked at nationally.
 @FreeCoffeeNow! The problem is this isn't the police where there is no other option. This is a private company and you can go to the dump/transfer station and get rid of your own trash, and they don't strike anytime they want.
@whocares They don't strike when they don't want to.
We do not need unions anymore. There are so many federal/state regulations that protect employees. Think about it folks, there are laws to protect birds, bees, owls. Certainly, there are laws to protect people. The dark ages are over. These teamster gangstas are like the mafias in sheep clothing. Stop blocking the trucks. let business go on. If you don't want to work, go find somewhere else to work.Â
 @Agree2Disagree Hey, Mr. or Ms. Theory X, YOU are living in the dark ages. Have you not noticed that there are very few people in our entire world that hold MOST of the wealth? Is it really your pleasure to see hard working people kicked to the curb, leaving their life in ruins because of a bias action by owner or corporation? WE NEED ORGANIZED LABOR!!!!!! It is the ONLY check and balance that will keep our country prosperous and the land of the free. Don't start pointing fingers at organized labor as mobsters. We're not. There may have been a time when the mombs and gangstas were part of the movement back in the 30's and 40's, but that was because our government was not willing to take sides with the laborers. Times have changed so catch up to the real times of now and support the hard working unions. You are quite capable of loading your own waste and taking it to the dump. Hmmm, maybe your one of those people that wont do anything more but the minimum?
And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...
 @jelisized go big red
I've been bashing the unions just like so many have but in the end, no service again tomorrow. So is anybody else sick of the amount of crap we all throw away? Americans generate more garbage than any other society. How can we generate less crap we need to throw away? Reject all that plastic wrapped stuff. Be diligent about recycling.. Compost.. With a little leg work you could stop paying WM and make a once a month trip to the TS To dump garbage for a fee of $20 and every thing else would be free... How much could you save? Nah, too much of an inconvenience for an American family.. Crazy to even think that way
 @SensationaLies We compost and recycle more than we throw away. We go through maybe 3-4 bags of garbage a month, unlike the neighbors below us who go throw way more than us (they have 3-4 big garbage cans full each week and most of it is full of stuff that could've been recycled or composted instead of thrown away), so not all of us throwing a lot of stuff away.  Also, most of us that have families both work full-time jobs with opposite schedules, and don't own trucks due to higher gas prices!  My husband and I pay $45 every two months for garbage and recycling services, and we have our own compost bins.
 @SensationaLies I'm thinking of loading up the pickup with the neighbors garbage for a fee and sending it to the dump.  I wonder how much I'd need to charge to make a healthy profit? ....  10$ a can?  15$?     Ahh, I have to work, but for all of you unemployed, consider this as an opportunity!Â
Vertically Inclined, don't you have a fire to go to?
 @SensationaLies we have the smallest trash can and it's still only half full. Our recyclables, however... three big cans, all full and ready to go!!
Waste Management is a corporation. It's about time they stand up to the corporation. What is wrong with trying to make a fair family wage? If the unions go away, ALL of our wages will go down eventually. Whether it be for more in medical deductibles, copays, rising gas prices, food. Have you been in their shoes?
It's about time a company tells the unions you work for us not the teamsters. Unions have out lived their life. Time to move forward, There are a lot of people who would love 68k a year.. I hope they replace all of them and see the union go out and find a job that pays that much.. Unions are the major problem in this country now.Â
@nwpaintman No, the major problem with this country is corporations moving all our jobs overseas and the stagnant wages of American workers while companies and CEO's make record profits and wages. From 1978 to 2011, the increase in worker annual compensation was 5.7% while the increase in CEO annual compensation during the same time period was 726.7%. Even CEO's who have done a terrible job are getting bonuses while and average work who does the same terrible job gets fired. Most of the laws that protect the American worker today are because of unions. While unions are far from perfect, they are the only ones that are looking out for the working class at all.
 @Hikingwithdogs Maybe they would quit sending jobs oversees if they did not have to pay extortionist fees to unions. $68k to drive a truck? C'mon...
@74Bigdawg If we are willing to work for less then a dollar an hour and business space cost pennies on the dollar, in this country, then yes corporations would stop sending jobs overseas. The real problem is the tax breaks for large corporations just because they have lots of money. How about tax breaks with an incentive? Create and keep living wage American jobs in America and get a huge tax break. Send your jobs overseas and you get no tax breaks.
 @nwpaintman So what your saying is the 6.9% of private sector employees who are union members are the major problem. I don't see anything wrong with private sector employees wanting a little more when the company is doing good so long as they swing the other way when the company is doing bad. Saying that unions are the major problem is way off base we have a lot bigger and worse problems than unions
Hey what about Snohomish County and Skagit county?? We have garbage just as everyone else..... Just to be clear its ONLY KING COUNTY nobody else!! Snohomish county you still have to pay to take your garbage to the dump only only KING COUNTY gets in for free with proof of resident of king county
look, ... you drive a truck and pull some levers and make nearly a hundred grand after six years and that's not GOOD ENOUGH?!!! SCREW YOU! we'll hire illegal immigrants to do this, the liberals are anxious in expanding their voter base anyway!!!Â
@blaster You should apply. That's good money.
Can they legally just hire scabs while there is a labor dispute?
 @Julia Of course they have the right to hire replacement workers. The company can also elect to hire these replacement workers on a permanent basis.
Wrong on both parts. They cannot hire them permanently as this is an "unfair labor" strike - per NLRB rules/federal regulations, the worker's jobs are protected.
The union provides work for people who are lazy.
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I'm going to take this opportunity to ask Komo to ask Livefyre to make their commenting system more similar to IntenseDebate. This new format is annoying to use. Everything is so busy. Simplicity is the way to go!
@Sounders Actually, waste management provides the work and the union protects the worker for safe working conditions and keeping the employer in check.
 @Hikingwithdogs  @Sounders An OSHA / WISHA does not?Â
Â
@Vertically Inclined:You can get FIRED for reporting OSHA & WISHA violations in a non-union enviroment - the employer does not want to deal with actually complying with the law. In a union setting, the union will protect the employee for reporting violations.
 @Hikingwithdogs  @Vertically  @Sounders Was there a claim on the historical creation of the federal OSHA or Washington State WISHA programs in my question?  Â
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I actually agree with you in your statements on the importance of history. Â We repeat the same mistakes often as a result of not learning from previous ones. Â Â
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Nonetheless, how something got started does not really add any merit to what something is today. Â Â In context, just because worker unions of yesterday had influence in the creation of OSHA (and its ilk) does not add any merit to the value of the unions today on the topic of occupational safety. Â Â Another way to say it: If for whatever reason, all of the unions ceased to exist today, occupational safety and enforcement by OSHA / WISHA would not be negatively or positively impacted. Â Â OSHA would do their thing. Â WISHA would still require the same worker safety, reporting and so on.Â
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Long story short, your claim that unions actively protect worker safety is on pretty shaky ground in my opinion. Â Â This is the opinion of a former safety officer of a local union crew. Â Â
 @whocares To clarify, the OSHA & WISHA question was in regards to the topic of safety.  I guessed I assumed that was clear.Â
@Vertically Inclined @Sounders OSHA and WISHA came about because of unions. Learning about history is part of what's wrong with this country. If polititicans paid attention in history class, we wouldn't be making the same mistakes over and over again. That means both democrats and republicans. Drives me nuts that people don't pay attention in history class!
 @Vertically Inclined  @Hikingwithdogs  @Sounders Nope not really, because you can go that route and then get fired for what ever reason they want
I don't understand why they don't all make the same wage, adjust by skill, seniority, whatever, but they all drive the same trucks. It's not like the garbage guys actually lift the cans anymore. They drive the same rigs, which hoist the same type cans (yard waste is even bigger than garbage! Should they get more pay then?). What exactly does Waste Management base their salaries on then? Can't be the work? Pure status then? Garbage is more glamorous? more hazardous? more abundant? What?
@Joy JohnsonThat is EXACTLY why they are striking.
Oh please oh please oh please.....
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FIREÂ THEÂ ALICE IN WONDERLANDÂ TEAMSTERS ALREADY.Â
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Real people that want to work need jobs badly. Not union never can be fired elitist extortionists.
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Unions need to be extinct. Time long gone, club for you owe me clowns. Provide value, or move out of the way.
Lord forbid you should compete against others on merit. What would you do then, Teamster bully? Pull out the baseball bat, throw bricks through my house windows, curse my kids?Â
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Pretty much.Â
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My cans will be full or wet cat litter and rotting cabbage, to celebrate your new contract. Double loads.
 @pbs7mm I think you need to stop eating the mushrooms in Wonderland your self. I have worked for a couple of unions and if you can't do the job you get fired just like everyone else.
 @whocares  @pbs7mm Is there oxygen on your planet? The unions are blind. They just want their dues. Workers hide behind them and sit around feeling invulnerable. Even the union stewards! However, in my opinion, these workers who feel they are untouchable, would feel that way with or without a union. Someone who doesn't want to do the work is going to find ways to get out of. Universal Law! It's called work ethics! You either got it or you don't!
@Joy Johnson:Unions are only as strong as or as weak as their members. I have worked in both union & non-union jobs. When I was working in a unino job, I was the one who actually kept track of production & handed out discipline when workers were not meeting standards. ANYONE, even a union member, can get fired for not doing their job, To claim otherwise is crazy.
Well Teamsters Union, sure have come along way fighting for what was right at the time, to Germ Warfare. Germ Warfare against the people, Bacteria and whatever else is growing in there. Homeland security should be here checking on the  levels, where are they or the C.D.C?. What other life safety issues have the Teamsters Union covered up? for how could we think any different, Germ Warfare aginst the people. You have become what you originally fought aginst, Human Evil.Â
America, time for a new way to protect American workers, for this is not working anymore.
@nowthen1Â What the...
 @onewhoknows Yeah, I think he fell into the deep end there.