On Sunday March 28th, Waste Management garbage haulers authorized a
strike. But will they?
As the potential deadline neared both sides seemed to continue to work at it and a strike walk out
was averted last week. And while the language coming out the last few days has sounded grim at best, the haulers
suddenly backed off their public talk of a strike.
"That's odd" I thought. Why would they set aside their biggest poker chip? I think I found the answer.
komonews.com reported that over 1,600 people
applied for the jobs of drivers if they do in fact go on strike. Point being, you go on strike you may not have
a job at all when Management gets done with you.
Are the days of
unions over? In a dire economy the
last thing you want to be doing is going on a strike. An unfortunate side affect of a bad economy is that it does
put employers in the drivers seat a bit more when it comes to handing out raises and benefits. It is much easier
for them to keep increases low, or not give out anything new at all.
A common complaint I heard of driver calling in on local radio stations was how hard the work was on the body and that they
didn't think most people could or would hack it. They failed to take in account we are in a recession and 1600
people proved that they would be willing to take the wage those drivers are CURRENTLY getting in order to get a job
to feed their families...so if your in a union you might need to tread lightly.
- Scott