San Carlos Garbage Pickup Delayed by Allied Waste Strike

August 25, 2010

Got Garbage?

If Wednesday or Thursday is your normal garbage pickup day in San Carlos, don't be surprised when you get home from work today to find the garbage that has been stewing in your garbage can during the heat wave is still there.  A labor dispute between 12 clerical workers and Allied Waste management has resulted in picket lines at both the Ox Mountain facility in Half Moon Bay and the San Carlos Transfer Station.    The result?  Drivers aren't crossing the picket line, and YOUR garbage is still sitting in your front yard.

Thanks, Local 350…

According to this article in the Half Moon Bay Review, the strike was organized by Robert Morales, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 350 — the union that represents local Allied Waste Employees.   The strike is expected to last 48 hours, meaning you'll be lucky if they get to it by Friday.   The reason for the strike?  Here's the kicker, straight from the paper:

Morales said his union has been working with Ox Mountain to get equal pay for the dozens of women in the clerical units and to negotiate their pension contracts. But there has been a stalemate so far, says Morales, because the company is “negotiating in bad faith.”

Pension contracts for clerical workers?   That's why your garbage is rotting in your front yard in 100-degree heat.   Sorry for my lack of compassion, but most people I know don't have the luxury of ANY pension, and are simply thankful to have a job.    We call that a “recession”, Bob.

So, if you're thrilled with the stench in your front yard today (and likely tomorrow), give Robert Morales a call up at good ‘ol Local 350 – he can be reached at 650-757-7290.  I'm sure he'd love to hear from you.

Unions and pensions…enough, already.

UPDATE:  A revised pick-up schedule was just released by the City of San Carlos:  Garbage Schedule

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37 Comments

  1. Michael on August 26, 2010 at 12:25 am

    Thanks so much for the heads up Chuck!

    I called and left Bob a message. It is so typical that he does not even record a greeting on his voicemail, but enlists a female to do it for him,,,just another sign that there is much more waste in this organization.

    But, we can’t speak with our dollars and choose a different collection company. Isn’t this akin to a monopoly (a monopoly that needs a union??)??



  2. Bill on August 26, 2010 at 4:22 am

    Typical. Is anyone else outraged by our local unions behavior during this economic crisis? Obstructionist, greedy, unreasonable, intransigent…..they screw up every industry they touch and are the root cause of most of our fiscal issues. Just look at our local teachers, firefighters, police, city workers, and now garbage secretary unions. I say fire them all and start over with a fresh batch of eager workers from the 10% unemployed!



  3. Pat on August 26, 2010 at 5:46 am

    Chuck, thank you for publishing Bob’s number and giving us a voice in this dispute.



  4. Joe on August 26, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Joe from Redwood City here……with half of the people on my block losing their jobs, some getting jobs for less pay, and others still on unemployment, some working two crappy jobs to stay in their houses……these guys should suck it up and get on their knees and be thankful they have a job……GET RID OF THESE UNIONS.



  5. John on August 26, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    Ive been reading some of these comments and I have to say there a little ridiculous. Why is everyone taking the side of the company? This is a company that makes billions each year and there willing to let there employees go on strike because there not willing to give benefits to there employees. These employees have had the same benefits for 30 years there not asking for anything different than what they’ve been receiving and worst of all its only 13 employees, a company that makes billions is crying about 13 employees??? Shame on allied waste, the same as any big company, they just want the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.



  6. Chuck Gillooley on August 26, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    John,

    While Allied Waste certainly played a role in this strike by not being prepared for such an event and not having a back-up plan, the organization that deserves everyone’s wrath is Teamsters Local 350. THEY are the ones who called for the strike in the first place, and *coincidentally* it happened to be for the hottest day of the year. Unions (and pensions) are a dinosaur of a bygone era. If you’re upset that you have a heaping pile of smelly garbage in your front yard today, direct it at Robert Morales of Local 350. His phone number is in the post — call him. Apparently, he has already hung up on at least one reporter seeking comment — http://thedailynews.ca.newsmemory.com/rss.php?date=20100826&edition=The+Daily+News&subsection=A%3A+Main&page=0826150xa001.pdf.0&id=art_0.xml&device=

    This was 100% his idea, and he needs to be held accountable for making this decision.



  7. PRM on August 26, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    Can you offer any sensible explanation then why only workers within certain sectors are deserving of union contracts while the rest of us make do with “at will” employment and the benefits we receive (or not) only so long as it pleases our employers to provide them to us? Unions have long outlived any useful purpose they ever served and most people are over it. It’s truly outrageous how tone-deaf the unions are proving themselves to be during these very difficult times.



  8. Anonymous on August 26, 2010 at 6:32 pm

    Clearly unions served a purpose years ago, and do in some industries today. However, government workers have historically been well compensated during their working years as well as in retirement. These jobs were not meant to make people rich (and I am not saying they do in all cases) but overall, the sense of entitlement and the holding of hostages until they get what they want has to stop.

    What purpose does holding a 2-day strike serve these 13 workers? They are not gaining any support from the customers and are these 13 people indespensible? I suspect they can be replaced quite easily. WE ALL CAN!

    Until unions realize what is happening around them, they will continue to act as spoiled children who do not get their way. Pensions got this country into trouble by going unchecked and they need to be addressed and fixed; not further bloated.



  9. JJ on August 26, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    I would certainly agree that this was an ill-timed and ill-conveived stunt that deserves criticism.

    But I think it’s a bit heavy handed to dismiss unions as worthless altogether. Contrary to public sentiment, unions provide a benefit to a significant number of middle class families. In an environment where our economy is collapsing in large part to the demise of the middle class, I don’t understand the hysteria that surrounds increased pay and benefits for workers.

    On a related note, earlier this month Paul Krugman commented that public employees are now being unfairly painted as the new welfare queens: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/schoolteachers-driving-cadillacs/



  10. Teamster member on August 26, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    I’m sorry but I can’t sympathize with you people. I didn’t get to benefit from overhyped and over valued stock options so that I could remodel my teardown house in sunny San Carlos. All we want is the same comparable benefits that the rest of the Teamesters waste union gets. If it bothers you, so be it and to hell with you. Why aren’t you publishing Allied’s CEO’s number also?



  11. Chuck Gillooley on August 26, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    Simple. I’m not publishing the Allied CEO’s number because HE DID NOT COORDINATE THIS ACTION. YOUR secretary-treasurer did, and he freely admits it in the press. Get it now?

    As far as over-valued and over-hyped stock options and how anyone gets paid, why is that any business of yours? If someone in San Carlos is not happy with how they are being paid, should it affect you? NO! Nor should your gripes about your wages affect me or any other citizen of San Carlos. If you think you’re entitled to equal wages to your counterparts, you’re absolutely entitled to go for it. But don’t make YOUR problem OUR problem. But because YOU have chosen to go on strike and garbage is piling up all over San Carlos, you have done exactly that.

    That’s why very few people are sympathetic to your cause right now. You’re not hurting Allied Waste with your actions at all. They’ll get paid no matter what. You’re screwing the citizens of San Carlos, who have absolutely no skin in this game. I hope you’re proud of yourself.



  12. Bill on August 26, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    hey teamster, if you dont like the wages/benefits offered by your employer, then find another job!!! that’s how it works in the real world. or just suck it up for a while until the economy turns around, like the rest of us are. please stop whining about “fairness” and “equal treatment” and taking actions like this that make your problem our problem. in a free, open and capitalist economy like ours with lots of jobs and upward mobility, there is simply no reason for unions anymore. dont like your job….get a new one!



  13. Anonymous on August 26, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    Does anyone know if the garbage workers will be getting overtime since they will be working on sunday due to this strike?



  14. Michael on August 26, 2010 at 9:54 pm

    Chuck, glad to hear you roar on this topic!

    JJ and Teamster Member, I think that on some level you can blame companies for being greedy, but don’t you think that if unions were more fair-minded and truly looking out for the workers, they would be addressing the bigger picture and not forcing companies to outsource their work-force as much as possible?

    There are clearly many workers willing to do a job for less money in this economy. When it makes sense for a company to search outside of their domestic borders for help, WHY do you think they are doing that? Because they can get the same if not better quality of work for far less money. They have to look at the bottom line, not making sure that a high school graduate retires at the majority of their salary for life.

    Your benefits are NOT like the rest of us.

    Like everyone else, unions and their members must realize we are not in the 1950’s any longer and should not expect the excesses that have become customary.

    We are not talking about CEO’s, we are talking about the average Joe/Joann earning out-of-scale compensation/retirement benefits for doing a job that many could/would do effectively without those benefits.



  15. Chuck Gillooley on August 26, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    Update: It appears that Allied Waste has picked up the garbage in much of San Carlos today, a full day ahead of their revised schedule. Hopefully, they will be completely caught up soon and we can put this nonsense behind us.



  16. Chuck Gillooley on August 27, 2010 at 1:54 am

    Ha… wouldn’t that be ironic? 😉



  17. Margaret Casey on August 27, 2010 at 2:08 am

    How about gathering facts before spouting off ? The strike was planned and notice was sent to the company before the “heat wave” hit. The union suspended the original planned day when the company said they were willing to talk and were sure they could reach a settlement with the union. Have you noticed Morales is not asking for something for HIMSELF …. he is fighting for benefits for people like you. and me. and your neighbor. and your loser brother-in-law. No one is getting rich off of this. If you know otherwise, how about you publish the kingly wages that these clerical workers make ? Wow, it might be like 17 or 22 dollars an hour. They should just wake up to the real world and go work at a minimum wage job, right ? Now THAT would be a kick to the economy, right ? Unbelievable …. a little inconvenience to you and you’re crying like babies, as though someone just grabbed $25,000 out of your pockets.



  18. Chuck Gillooley on August 27, 2010 at 3:34 am

    OK, here are a few facts about me: 1.) I don’t have a pension. 2.) I get ZERO benefits. 3.) I pay for 100% of my entire families health insurance out of my pocket (which, by the way, will be increasing significantly in the near future….thank you, Anthem/Blue Cross) 4.) I have ZERO job security. If I don’t show up every day and excel at what I do, I’m out. 5.) I don’t draw a paycheck — if I don’t produce, I don’t make a penny.

    So kindly elaborate for those of us who are “spouting off” how shutting down the garbage service for a few hundred thousand people is “fighting for the benefits for people like you and me”? I’m just not seeing it.

    I don’t know what the motivation behind Robert Morales’ actions were. What I do know is that he effectively took the problem of a couple of dozen people and willingly made it the problem of about 250,000. What I also know is that we’re in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and for every one of those “$17-$22/hour” positions that we’re talking about, there are probably a thousand very qualified and very unemployed people right now who would line up for every one of those positions….sans the pension. Kudos to Morales for sticking up for his people. But perhaps he should have thought about the timing of his “gesture”, and the possibility that it could have massively backfired in the public’s eys, like it appears to have.



  19. Anon on August 27, 2010 at 3:55 am

    This whole situation is crazy! Allied Waste will no longer be ther service provider in the county come Jan 1st, Recology is taking over. Why are they striking when there are only a handful of months left on their contract?



  20. Wondering on August 27, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Anyone know how to deduct for this week’s pickup if their newly-arraigned day doesn’t fit my schedule?



  21. Sal on August 27, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    As Chuck noted earlier, Allied Waste isn’t striking – the Teamsters Local 350 Union is the group behind the “work stoppage” on Wednesday and Thursday.



  22. Anonymous on August 28, 2010 at 3:25 am

    You guys couldnt do there jobs, so you got no place to talk



  23. Anonymous on August 28, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    The Daily Post reported yesterday that they will be getting overtime on sunday to pick up the remaining trash left-over from the days on strike!



  24. PRM on August 28, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    So the clerical workers were the reason for the strike yet I assume it will be only the collectors working on Sunday and collecting the overtime…I wonder if those big-hearted union guys will defer some of that overtime to the under-compensated clerical staff.

    And @ the other anonymous – you’re right, I couldn’t do “there” jobs because I know the difference between “there” and “their.”



  25. Margaret Casey on August 28, 2010 at 11:39 pm

    Have any of you ever forgotten to take out the garbage, and it has to wait till the next week ? Yes ? So I suppose your spouse divorced you, right ? Come on. This is a minor inconvenience to you.
    Now let’s say, just hypothetically, the free market decided that the commission rate for people who choose to sell real estate for a living, with its attendant current structure that pays sufficiently that such a person can not only afford to live in San Carlos, but also can afford to pay benefits out of pocket for a family ! and save toward retirement ! and take out his/her own life insurance policy that will take care of the family and pay off the house ! and maybe buy a new car every couple years ? and take non-camping vacations ? OH, that doesn’t describe you ? OK, pretend it’s someone else. Pretend that person CAN do all those things. But let’s say we reduce the commission rate to 1%. Think that person will be happy ? Think that person won’t start feeling a little differently ? Think about it.



  26. Chuck Gillooley on August 29, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    Margaret,

    You are missing the point of this argument entirely. if the employees in question at Allied Waste feel that they are not being compensated properly, so be it — they’re absolutely entitled to take it up with their management, just like any one else in another private sector job would do. They don’t like the answer they’re getting back? Take it as a message that the people who are writing their paychecks don’t agree on the value of the services that these employees are providing. Like it or not, that’s just how the employment market works.

    Clearly, these employees have data that similar jobs elsewhere are paying more and providing better benefits – why else would they be striking? If they are truly worth more than they are being paid, then they shouldn’t have a problem finding a higher paying job elsewhere, right?

    Prior to real estate, I spent 20 years in the private sector. Were there times where I thought I was underpaid? Absolutely. But what did I do to resolve it when my management didn’t see things the same way? I worked to sharpen my skills, and I earned a better job with better pay elsewhere. I didn’t chain myself to the front door of the building in protest, so that the other employees couldn’t get to work, which is figuratively what Local 350 has done — THAT is the problem I have with this whole situation.

    A few years back, the umpires of Major League Baseball decided they weren’t making enough money and felt the best way to get what they wanted was to walk out on their responsibility during the season, hoping that their strike would cripple Major League Baseball. What happened? The league fired all of striking umpires, and replaced them with other fully-qualified replacements, and the game went on. Oops.

    Sorry, I’m a bit “old school” in this respect — you choose not show up to work when you are supposed to, be prepared that your employer may find someone who will.

    I enjoyed your characterization of the real estate market. The only part you missed is the visual of me sitting on the beach in Hawaii waiting for those huge commission checks to flow in automatically. Because we all know it’s the easiest job in the world, right? To answer your original question, if commission rates suddenly dropped to a point where I could no longer afford to live in such a lavish lifestyle, I would use the skills that I worked my entire career to acquire and find a job elsewhere.



  27. Bob Bredel on August 30, 2010 at 3:46 am

    Chuck,

    The Hula Grill closes at 10:30.

    Bob



  28. Bill on August 31, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    Confirmed by the Daily News today…..striking workers got paid time-and-a-half for Saturday and DOUBLE-TIME for Sunday, which means most employees came out ahead in pay for the week! Sounds like a great incentive to go on strike on a whim and inconvenience entire communities just to get a little extra spending cash…. Let’s hope the new negotiated agreement with Recology includes some safeguards to prevent this from happening again. And that other communities considering a contract with BFI/Allied Waste/Republic take note of the union’s shameful behavior in the final months of this contract!



  29. Anonymous on August 31, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    So the union didn’t offer any strike pay. And the drivers who walked in sympathy get paid OT. Interesting



  30. HooYaaa on August 31, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    The union is striking because they want negotiate a new contract with Allied that the new company (NorCal Waste = Recology) will have to honor. Oh, and the terms of the franchise agreeement say that all of the costs of the contract (yes, labor costs, too) are paid by the people who use the service – so everyone who in San Mateo will pay higher rates if Allied just goes along with the union.



  31. HooYaa on August 31, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    I wonder if Morales didn’t work 2 days and earn $0 during the strike. The union didn’t even authorize strike pay to help these workers pay their bills. Seems that the union bosses don’t really care about the rank & file, the people who actually get hurt by a strike. Guess the higher-ups jobs are more secure when someone else is paying for them.



  32. Gregg on September 3, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    Does anyone know if Recology is planning to take on most of the collectors and drivers from Allied Waste’s San Carlos facility, or have they hired their own staff?



  33. Gregg on September 3, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    The “makeup sessions” last week appeared quite random.
    My recycling was picked up (twice, in fact), but my regular trash did not get picked up at all. I submitted the contact form on the AlliedWasteSanMateoCounty.com website.

    We’ll see what happens.



  34. Gregg on September 3, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    I was grabbing lunch in the KFC in Foster City about 3-4 years ago (yes, before it closed) when two Allied Waste trucks pulled up, and the drivers and collectors came in to grab lunch.

    They sat down at the table next to mine and proceeded to brag to each other about how much Allied Waste paid them. One of the guys made $90k/yr. I wasn’t involved in the conversation, so I couldn’t ask questions like “How much of that was overtime,” but nonetheless it was a surprising figure. It’s hard to be supportive of a union strike by employees who are so well compensated; the fact that they weren’t even the employees with the dispute just makes it even harder to swallow.



  35. Anonymous on September 4, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    Frankly I’m jealous. Maybe some of you who are so anti-union are jealous too.

    I want a pension. I want cheap health care. I want job security. And a good salary on top of it. Yeah, I want that job. And I’m very very very sorry there aren’t that many like it.

    Yeah, I can work in the private sector. In fact I did. Until one day I walked in and my boss told me that my position was eliminated and I had two weeks notice. I still have the same mortgage, but now I have $1500 a month in COBRA.

    I’d support the unions in a heartbeat if I felt they were fighting for all of us.



  36. M. Butler on September 9, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Hi Gregg,

    I heard that about half of the current drivers/collectors will lose their jobs. The new collection system being put in place will require fewer workers. Instead of 2 people (a driver and a collector) trucks will only need 1 person to do both roles. Also the recycling collection is greatly simplified.

    -Margaret



  37. Anonymous on September 9, 2010 at 11:48 pm

    In my opinion, the unions should have noticed this trend years ago…when workers become too expensive for a company to make a profit (and yes, this is why companies exist), those companies will look for ways to reduce their labor costs (translate: reduce workforce).

    In spite of what some people have expressed on this blog, the thinking of unions has become outdated and is forcing more and more industries to focus only on the bottom line; looking for ways to reduce their workforce.

    It is a sad commentary that we realize the human factor has, for many reasons, disappeared from corporate culture. You are fortunate if you work for a company that you believe cares for your personal welfare and keeps you on knowing they can receive the same benefit of your labor at a lower cost.

    This will keep happening until the unions negotiate IN GOOD FAITH, to ensure the longevity of their members’ jobs. I hope they learn an eventual lesson, but I doubt it.

    It seems that the union leaders are the only ones that have job security…



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