TEAMSTERS
RESPOND TO PUBLIC OFFERS OF HELP
IN GARBAGE STRIKE
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Striking Teamsters Copyright © 2004 Debra Reid, The Daily Sparks Tribune Late-breaking News & Bulletins NevadaLabor.com Main Strike Update Page |
WIDESPREAD SAFETY VIOLATIONS ALLEGED
RENO, NV (May 12, 2004) — The Teamsters Union today responded to public offers of support for striking Waste Management employees in northwestern Nevada.
"A lot of people have asked us what they may do," stated Local 533 Secretary-Treasurer Lou Martino.
"The company has announced that their imported strikebreakers will not pick up recycling, something customers pay for in every bill. People have volunteered to protest by bringing their recycled cans, plastics and newspapers directly to Waste Management's Reno corporate offices," Martino said. The WM building is located at 100 Vassar, just east of S. Virginia Street in Reno.
"Union members thoughout the region have offered assistance. Because many of them have picket signs in their possession, we've asked them to picket Waste Management trucks during pickup in theirneighborhoods and to report unsafe activities," Martino stated.
PUBLIC SAFETY AT SERIOUS RISK
"Citizens should contact Washoe County Commission Chair Jim Shaw, Sparks Mayor Tony Armstrong and Reno Mayor Bob Cashell and ask them to intercede because public safety is now at serious risk. Safety requirements under which we normally work have apparently been thrown out. We have seen improperly trained drivers not wearing seatbelts, speeding and working more hours than department of transportation regulations allow. Local government must enforce the law and review pre- and post-trip inspection forms to keep drowsy drivers off the road," Martino stated.
BREAKTIME — THE ABOVE STRIKEBREAKER prepares to break his face by operating
without a safety belt.
(Photo © 2004 Tim Harville/IBT 533)OBSERVED VIOLATIONS
Unionbuster busts power company HQ*Failure to secure trucks to keep them from rolling during pickup
* Failure to secure hydraulics, putting workers in danger of entanglement with crushing equipment
* Workers crossing busy streets with trash containers, normally a firing offense
* Frontloader trucks being driven with blades not fully retracted
* Not utilizing drop box safety chains which are left to dangle from trucks
* Trucks entering residential areas without engaging strobe warning lights
* Reduction in routes and number of trucks
* Temp workers without safety vests
* Lack of tarps
"Trash collection is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country which is why safety is a principal cause of this strike,"Martino said. "The company constantly cuts costs by not hiring after someone quits, putting more stress on remaining employees," Martino added.
"Our people have observed a wide range of safety violations, " Martino asserted.COMPANY DELAYS GETTING BACK
TO THE BARGAINING TABLE"We did not resume negotiations until Wednesday because Waste Management's lawyers from a national union-busting firm could not fit Reno into their schedule," Martino stated.
In Washoe County, picket lines have been set up in front of Waste Management's main transfer station on Commercial Row, just across the river from the Reno Gazette-Journal; at the Stead transfer station; in Incline Village at north Lake Tahoe and at the recycling center on Greg St. in Sparks. In sprawling Lyon County, pickets are on duty in widely separated Dayton and Fernley. Demonstrators will also patrol the Lockwood/Mustang landfill in Storey County during hours of operation.
The strike began on Friday, May 7, and is the first for the area since 1967. That dispute lasted 12 days. About 350 employees have been working without a contract since the previous agreement expired April 18. Of the 350, about 280 are Teamsters members. Local 533 has represented disposal workers for decades.
The Northern Nevada Central Labor Council/AFL-CIO voted to grant strike sanction against Waste Management last month. The council is made up of 25 area trade unions.
Earlier this month, Waste Management workers in Fallon, a farming and naval air base community 60 miles east of Reno, voted unanimously for Teamsters representation.
DAILY GARBAGE STRIKE NEWS LINKS AND UPDATESNEVADALABOR.COM 2004 STRIKE UPDATE PAGE
MAY 14, 2004, STRIKE UPDATE PAGE
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