Seattle Trash Collectors Make Average of $109,553 But Want More

[techguy]

Holy crap, for collecting trash??????? WOW.

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/04/seattle-trash-collectors-make-average.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnaly sis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29


One might think that $109,553 in this economy would be way more than enough to keep nearly anyone happy. In Seattle, it will not even keep trash collectors happy.

Please consider Teamsters dump Waste Management's 'best, last, final offer'

The Teamsters Local 174 says it has chosen not to accept Waste Management's 'best, last, final offer."

Union spokesman Michael Gonzales said the Teamsters have submitted a new proposal with "significant movement," and have no plans to strike.

Waste Management's five-year offer includes a wage increase of $1 per hour in the first year, bumping up the current pay rate of $26.29 per hour by 3.7 percent.


In addition, Waste Management said it is offering a one-time $1,000 bonus to each employee if the contract is ratified by April 3.

"By attaching an artificial deadline, it looks like they're trying to ram a bad contract down the sanitation workers' throats," said Brent Barrett, a yard waste driver.

A bad Contract?

The Teamsters Unions is a collection of overpaid fools who do not appreciate what they have.

Inquiring minds note that 1,600 apply to haul trash in case of Teamsters strike.

More than 1,600 people have applied to work as replacement drivers for Waste Management in case of a strike by the Teamsters, a company spokesperson said Saturday.

"We're preparing to hire replacements in the event of a prolonged strike. It's part of our contingency planning," said Jackie Lang, spokeswoman for Waste Management.

The company submitted what it calls its "best, last, final offer" to union garbage truck drivers represented by Teamsters Local 174, but the offer was rejected Friday by the union.

Union representatives said the Teamsters are unhappy with the company's final offer and have submitted their own new proposal with "significant movement" on the issues.

"The idea that the company can introduce new language and throw all kinds of changes at us and expect our members to vote on a short deadline is offensive," said Rick Hicks, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 174 and lead negotiator.

"From a union's perspective, this appears to be a tactic to divide the membership and force them to vote on a substandard deal," said Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer, Tracey A. Thompson. "This approach to bargaining calls into question whether the company is bargaining in good faith."

Waste Management's five-year offer includes a wage increase of $1 per hour in the first year, bumping up the current pay rate of $26.29 per hour by 3.7 percent.

By the last year of the contract, the average driver's annual compensation will reach $109,553, Waste Management said, and the company will contribute more than $15,000 per year to each employee's pension fund.

Waste Management Was Overly Generous

Waste Management was more than generous with that offer. Indeed waste Management should have offered a 50% reduction. It would still have been able to fill every position.

How much talent does it take to haul trash anyway? And what is Seattle doing? It should be seeking competitive bids for hauling. I bet if Seattle tried, it could lower costs by 50 to 70%. There is no way, trash hauling jobs should pay $109,553.

$50,000 for hauling trash is more than generous.

At $50,000 Waste Management could fill every position with more than qualified personnel, improve service by adding extra workers, and still offer Seattle a 30-50% reduction in cost.

Seattle needs a new contract with Waste Management. This one is clearly absurd.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

[Apparition]

The greedy collectivist unions are always this way.

[techguy]

No kidding. I am considering a carreer change.

Lets see.

Job now:
Budgets
Direct reports to me...
service level expectations
too much to do with time and resources allotted
only as good as your last backup......

etc....

or

No responsibility.
Job=put trash in truck.

wow.

[General of Darkness]

Good GOD!!!
If I was making $110K for picking up peoples garbage, I'd SHUT THE FVCK UP and hope nobody noticed! :o


No kidding. But this is a perfect example of what's wrong in this society. The retards are given entitlements, affirmative action, grossly overpaid jobs and they still bitch.

[Olmstein]

The city should give them their best, last, and final boot.

[Spectrism]

I think you are all reading this a bit harshly. Just think of the years of education that these fine servers had to endure, the costs of societal and professional training, the challenges of meeting customer expectations and the difficulty in finding qualified canfdidates to perform this role.

[PDT]

And just how much are the executives receiving for MAKING TRASH?

[singular_me]

it still is 75,000 after taxes.. incredible... was I was working 2 jobs and 60H weekly, I earned much less than that. ???

[techguy]

More workers that will be lead to the guillotine by their union bosses. Good riddance.

These stupid SOB's have no clue what is about to happen to them.


Good to see you RatHoler!

[Argentium]

These dummies are f'ing with a hard core outfit. Waste Management doesn't screw around. I've seen their results around here. Garbage strikes are bad for biz, WM could get replacement crews very quickly.

[Olmstein]

And just how much are the executives receiving for MAKING TRASH?


just like a gov't employees need to be reigned in by their bosses (taxpayers), the executives in publicly traded need to be reigned in by their bosses, the owners of the company (shareholders).

[gunDriller]

And just how much are the executives receiving for MAKING TRASH?


in the case of Sonoma County, they charge $35 per ton & take in 350 tons a day.

$10,500 per day, Monday through Saturday - $63,000 per week.

they turn that 350 tons of yard waste per day into about 70 tons of compost per day using a decomposition process that has about a 2 1/2 month cycle. they sell that 70 tons for about $15 per cubic yard, $60 a ton - $4200 a day, call it $20,000 per week.

so, roughly $80,000 per week from yard waste.

there's a 22 acre facility and a crew of about 20 guys and some really expensive customized machinery.

but, damn. it's a huge windfall for the 2 guys that got the permit - a scientist and the business guy.

how did they come by the windfall ? the business guy is Jewish, as are 90% of the managers and 50% of the employees at City Hall.

Membership has its privileges.

[madfranks]

Good Lord - I have a masters degree and I make a little over a third of what they "earn". Things like this make me angry, it knocks the economy out of whack. How can one properly gauge the path one would want to take professionally when the rewards for your career can never be planned? The maxim used to be "work hard - make more money", now it's "join the favored group - make more money". We need a free market, and badly.

[gunDriller]

Good Lord - I have a masters degree and I make a little over a third of what they "earn". Things like this make me angry, it knocks the economy out of whack. How can one properly gauge the path one would want to take professionally when the rewards for your career can never be planned? The maxim used to be "work hard - make more money", now it's "join the favored group - make more money". We need a free market, and badly.


i agree, but it's obviously not what we have.

it also depends on the definition of a free market.

before America's financial genius' decided to "do globalization" and America actually made stuff - even in Silicon Valley - markets were a lot freer, i think.

now, it is difficult for us to compete with someone who works as a slave in China for $1 an hour.

so what does a free market mean, in that situation ?

personally i think we were better off before globalization when manufacturing was a lot more local.

also the Chinese were a lot better off, they tended to live more on farms and not in factories breathing dust fumes etc.

[Horn]

also the Chinese were a lot better off, they tended to live more on farms and not in factories breathing dust fumes etc.


Don't forget the nosebleed synthetic gypsum shipped over.

[Tinman]

At $26.29 an hour, workers would have to work a hell of a lot of overtime to get $109,000 a year, and that is the average pay.

I figured that would be about 1400 hours of overtime a year, or almost 27 hours of overtime a week.

Something doesn't add up.

[techguy]

At $26.29 an hour, workers would have to work a hell of a lot of overtime to get $109,000 a year, and that is the average pay.

I figured that would be about 1400 hours of overtime a year, or almost 27 hours of overtime a week.

Something doesn't add up.


I was reading some comments on the op site, and saw that too. I was waiting for a clarification from the author to post it here.

[Gypsybiker45]

At $26.29 an hour, workers would have to work a hell of a lot of overtime to get $109,000 a year, and that is the average pay.

I figured that would be about 1400 hours of overtime a year, or almost 27 hours of overtime a week.

Something doesn't add up.


No,they are counting bennies in the amount, thats how the UAW does it too, Here an autoworker makes around the same with bennies, but their actual wage is around $28 per hr. (still too high) I have a novel idea, we should offer our services for 85k a year with no bennies!

[learn2swim]

The cost of living there is very high too. Now, if they were making 100 grand picking up trash in the south, then something is very wrong.

[Hellsbane]

The cost of living there is very high too. Now, if they were making 100 grand picking up trash in the south, then something is very wrong.



Gee, i wonder why the cost of living there is so high? Hmmmmmm....................

[Ironfield]

Good Lord - I have a masters degree and I make a little over a third of what they "earn". Things like this make me angry, it knocks the economy out of whack. How can one properly gauge the path one would want to take professionally when the rewards for your career can never be planned? The maxim used to be "work hard - make more money", now it's "join the favored group - make more money". We need a free market, and badly.


Words of wisdom Madfrank.

$100,000 just to haul trash is mind boggling. That is a highly over inflated sum and as the waste management company rightly points out by halving that amount it could still fill the needed positions. Hell for that amount of pay and lack of responsibilities I might be tempted to move country to do the job if I was unemployed.

-Ironfield

[Grand Master Melon]

Coming from Arizona where unions are weak I was stunned at the power of unions up there. I had a friend who worked at Boeing sweeping floors and performing other menial tasks that made $18 bucks an hour.

These garbage men are out of their mind.

[Ponce]

We should import Chinese workers that would do the job for $25,000 a year and be very very happy.............why hell, even from Cuba.

And that's why so many companies are moving overseas and killing the American dream........unions.