Friday, March 7, 2008

Somebody owes me a trash can

8:34 PM  Ron  9 comments

This morning I happened to be looking out the window when the trash men came to take the trash. I watched them take the first can, empty it into the back of the truck, then toss the empty can over both the terrace and sidewalk into the front yard, a good 20 feet. They then took the second can and threw the whole can, with trash, into the back of the truck, and then drive off.

Yes, they threw my trash can in the back of their truck.

So I put my shoes and coat on and tried to track them down. They went around the block but I caught up with them down at the next corner. I walked into the street and said to the guy on the back of the truck: "You took my trash can!" pointing up the street.

He looked at me and yelled back: "Yeah. The trash wouldn't come out. It was full of ice."

I must have made some face like "Are you retarded or something" and turned around and started walking home. Arguing with him would get me nowhere, I would just call up the city and file a claim for $10 to replace my trash can. He yelled something else to my back but I didn't make out what he said. I kept walking home. He had a job to do, I had a job to do.

But I just keep thinking - couldn't he have just left the trash can, with the trash in it. Why throw it out. Its like throwing out a clock because the battery is dead, or throwing out a typewriter because the ribbon is out of ink. The trash can has some ice in it, the trash bags (apparently) wouldn't come out (I repeat, apparently, because they wiggled just fine last night), so you just throw the trash can out with the trash.

Stupid.

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9 comments:

Those are union protected jobs. Trashmen are paid about $40,000.00 a year plus extremely outstanding city benefits (you and me pay 95% of their healthcare).
Call the boss, he most likely can't even repremand the guys on your route or they will file a grievence.
I don't think an automated truck would have given you any backtalk. Maybe time to look into them more.

Look up city employee pay information.
Curious about what city workers earn?

Go to:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/
includes/newspaper/data/
oshpayroll.shtml

Use the pull-down menus to search Oshkosh city employee pay by department or by salary range.

I fail to see the connection between garbagemen earning $40K a year and one garbageman acting like a jerk/idiot(we'll give him the benefit of the doubt) here.

Do you think that generally garbagemen getting paid less money and collecting fewer benefits would be more likely to respect their jobs, city, and "customers" ? That's why McDonalds employees have such a stellar reputation, right?

I think they still use Prisoners on the backs of the trucks. The drivers are all union.

I don't care about a reprimand, I just want my trash can replaced.

"Do you think that generally garbagemen getting paid less money and collecting fewer benefits would be more likely to respect their jobs, city, and "customers" ? That's why McDonalds employees have such a stellar reputation, right?"

I think the idea was that they are union, they might be shielded from actual repremands.

I've worked in union places and that isn't too hard to believe. Alot of times Supervisors turned there back on bad behaivor because the paperwork was to difficult and the unions put up too many roadblocks for the supervisor.

Good luck getting you can back though. Let us know if you do.

So- what's the word from the city? Any feedback from the sanitation dept. yet?

I got the claim form from the City Clerk's office today. I have to attach a receipt for a replacement can. Fortunately I don't need three estimates.

omnFYI, Ron, They no longer use prisoners - one of my clients works for the city...thanks for the laugh.
I can just imagine you running after the garbage truck...LOL

I saw on the Northwestern Data Mine thing that the trash guys get paid about $40,000.00 a year and yet they dress/look like prisoners?
Hummm.

You can have one of my old ones. It has a hole in the bottom, no wheels or handles and I wrote junk on it. I have tried to throw it away several times and it always comes back. Maybe if I put frozen garbage in it, they will take the whole thing. Support single point garbage collection and maybe the city will supply the containers.

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