Case of greedy business, not greedy workers
I attended the community meeting to support sanitation workers on April 11 and came away with an even deeper appreciation for their issues and concerns.
Garbage haulers suffer very high rates of injury and illness due to the nature of their jobs — more so than police officers and firefighters. Although it was not said at the meeting, I suspect a majority do not make it to full retirement.
The other garbage contractors have settled with their workers for terms more generous than Waste Management (WM). So what is WM’s problem? The company is definitely not lacking funds. WM is the largest garbage company in the United States with a profit margin of $1 billion last year. Its CEO, David Steiner, earned $5 million in 2009.
This is not a case of greedy workers. It is a case of greedy big business and the reason the United States is in financial shambles. I am not a sanitation worker, but I will join any picket lines to support them should WM try a lock out or force a strike. Enough of greedy CEOs and corporations.
— Linda Averill, Seattle
Who’s the trash now?
Thank you for your story on the garbage haulers’ defense of their working conditions and benefits against Waste Management’s (WM) attempt to downgrade the haulers’ contracts and to break their union. [“Haulers approve Allied pact,” NWMonday, April 12.]
I was also at the community meeting called by the Teamsters and heard about the dangers and injuries they face on the job —the fifth-most-dangerous job in the United States.
WM wants to bring down standards of living for workers. It is trying to eliminate retiree health care and refusing to meet the same employee health-care protections that all the other waste companies in the area provide.
This economic climate is bad for workers and they should be supported —not preyed upon by the largest trash-collection company in the United States.
— Adrienne Weller, Seattle