New York – NY Post: Sanitation Department’s Slow Snow Clean-up Was a Budget Protest

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    Photo Credit: EliNew York – These garbage men really stink.

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    Selfish Sanitation Department bosses from the snow-slammed outer boroughs ordered their drivers to snarl the blizzard cleanup to protest budget cuts — a disastrous move that turned streets into a minefield for emergency-services vehicles, The Post has learned.

    Miles of roads stretching from as north as Whitestone, Queens, to the south shore of Staten Island still remained treacherously unplowed last night because of the shameless job action, several sources and a city lawmaker said, which was over a raft of demotions, attrition and budget cuts.

    “They sent a message to the rest of the city that these particular labor issues are more important,” said City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens), who was visited yesterday by a group of guilt-ridden sanitation workers who confessed the shameless plot.

    Halloran said he met with three plow workers from the Sanitation Department — and two Department of Transportation supervisors who were on loan — at his office after he was flooded with irate calls from constituents.

    The snitches “didn’t want to be identified because they were afraid of retaliation,” Halloran said. “They were told [by supervisors] to take off routes [and] not do the plowing of some of the major arteries in a timely manner. They were told to make the mayor pay for the layoffs, the reductions in rank for the supervisors, shrinking the rolls of the rank-and-file.”

    New York’s Strongest used a variety of tactics to drag out the plowing process — and pad overtime checks — which included keeping plows slightly higher than the roadways and skipping over streets along their routes, the sources said.

    The snow-removal snitches said they were told to keep their plows off most streets and to wait for orders before attacking the accumulating piles of snow.

    They said crews normally would have been more aggressive in com bating a fierce, fast-moving bliz zard like the one that barreled in on Sunday and blew out the next morning.

    The workers said the work slowdown was the result of growing hostility between the mayor and the workers responsible for clearing the snow.

    In the last two years, the agency’s workforce has been slashed by 400 trash haulers and supervisors — down from 6,300 — because of the city’s budget crisis. And, effective tomorrow, 100 department supervisors are to be demoted and their salaries slashed as an added cost-saving move.

    Sources said budget cuts were also at the heart of poor planning for the blizzard last weekend. The city broke from its usual routine and did not call in a full complement on Saturday for snow preparations in order to save on added overtime that would have had to be paid for them to work on Christmas Day.

    The result was an absolute collapse of New York’s once-vaunted systems of clearing the streets and keeping mass transit moving under the weight of 20 inches of snow.

    The Sanitation Department last night denied there was a concerted effort to slow snow removal.

    “There are no organized or wildcat actions being taken by the sanitation workers or the supervisors,” said spokesman Matthew Lipani.

    Joseph Mannion, president of the union that represents agency supervisors, said talk of a slowdown “is hogwash.” But he admitted there is “resentment out there” toward Mayor Bloomberg and his administration because of budget cuts.

    His counterpart at the rank-and-file’s union, Harry Nespoli, has also denied there is a job action, though he admitted his guys are working lucrative 14-hour shifts.

    Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said only: “We would hope this is not the case.”

    But multiple Sanitation Department sources told The Post yesterday that angry plow drivers have only been clearing streets assigned to them even if that means they have to drive through snowed-in roads with their plows raised.

    And they are keeping their plow blades unusually high, making it necessary for them to have to run extra passes, adding time and extra pay.

    One mechanic said some drivers are purposely smashing plows and salt spreaders to further stall the cleanup effort.

    “That is a disgrace. I had to walk three miles because the buses can’t move,” said salesman Yuri Vesslin, 38, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

    Meanwhile, Bloomberg — quickly becoming the public face of failure this week — spent a second consecutive day yesterday defending himself to critics of his administration’s handling of the storm.

    He took reporters to The Bronx to explain that the city is coming back to life and to tout his administration’s efforts.

    “Can’t work much harder,” Bloomberg said.

    But Hizzoner admitted, “We didn’t do as good a job as we want to do or as the city has a right to expect.”

    Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty promised that every street will have been plowed by 7 this morning, but then he offered this hedge: “Will somebody find a street that I missed? Maybe.”

    Bloomberg and Doherty also offered a series of excuses for the failed response to the blizzard. They blamed residents for shoveling snow into streets that had already been plowed and for tying up 911 with non-emergency calls.

    “This was a failure in the operations and ultimately, as the mayor tells us very often, the buck stops with him,” said Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-SI).


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    30 Comments
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    YidishThinking
    YidishThinking
    13 years ago

    Sorry You NY POST garbage editors are part of the nyc garbage.

    You stick up for your this garbage mayor by pointing fingers on others while it took a few days this arrogant mayor to even recognize the situation.

    In the meantime my BP street is like a trademill pulling up to 60 mph and staying on the same place…..

    Yisroel
    Yisroel
    13 years ago

    The sanitation department has blood on its hands. They are criminal murders. Even if they escape prosecution from civil authorities they cannot escape the hand of G-d. May those who participated in this act of wholesale murder for money have their names blotted out and have to plow snow forever in Gehenum!

    Joe-Shmoe
    Joe-Shmoe
    13 years ago

    fire the unions! they kill every business with their greed! I just blame bloomberg for not yelling this out loud! we all understand the state of the economy, we all know he had to drastically cut the budget, as painfull as it is. for union bums to take this opportunity and strike in this manner should get them in jail! how many people didn’t get medical care they soo direly needed! they are bloody murderers! off with their heads! I hope bloomberg really fights them back! he has the money!

    YossieR
    YossieR
    13 years ago

    If this is proven then their pay should be docked & the taxpayers should get refunds. Even though I don’t use mass transit, I can’t believe that the city didn’t delay the price increases. How insensitive!

    13 years ago

    they should all be put in the electric chair!!!!! How many people have died due to the inability for emergency personell to operate!!!!

    Tzvi_Hersh
    Tzvi_Hersh
    13 years ago

    If this is true, I hope they realize that they ruined lives and caused some deaths.

    13 years ago

    It’s all coming out in the wash now.

    mewhoze
    mewhoze
    13 years ago

    all these people from the top on down should be held responsible for the deaths during this storm.
    the ambulances could not get to the patients in time due to what those people did to all of us!
    they should be held accountable!!

    VeyIzMir
    VeyIzMir
    13 years ago

    Regardless of the denials, I totally believe that there was a work slowdaown in retaliation for the layoffs. Lose – lose situation.

    oygevault
    oygevault
    13 years ago

    Is anyone surprised?

    DRE53
    DRE53
    13 years ago

    we need Ruloldf Guliani to handle this. he would have put them all in place by firing them and call in the national guard to show them that you don’t play games like this.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    This is the kind of “industrial action” that is common all over Europe. Get used to it since we will see many more such actions in the months ahead as the cities and states try to reduce their budgets by cutting pay and pensions of public workers. These sanitation men work hard and barely earn a living wage in NYC (most earn less than $100 K) so a pay freeze is unfair.

    alwaysright
    alwaysright
    13 years ago

    to me mayor bloomberg disconnect to every day people is the problem, he didnt even notice anything wrong, he kept telling us gow tough a job it is and we try hard, he is the boss he should be held responsible

    CountryYossi
    CountryYossi
    13 years ago

    I think the community leaders have to be very careful how they attack this sanitation problem..Lets not forget that those are the same people who do a wonderful job all year round throughout all our communities and lets not forget passover weeks how much the sanitation goes out of their schedule to accomandate the yiddishe communities..The people responsible for this slow down should be kept accountable but please lets not attack our local supervisors and sanitation men….

    ShatzMatz
    ShatzMatz
    13 years ago

    It was very obvious that this was a work action. I saw plenty of plows getting themselves stuck in the snow. Yesterday I saw a plow meticulously plowing a small unused stretch of old new utrecht rd between church ave and 14 ave. He spent 2 hours going back and forth over the same street moving every last flake to the side. I think that only 4 cars pass that road a day, since it leads to nowhere.

    The irony of it is that it is now 5 days after the storm and the sanitation workers are still getting paid overtime to plow. They are making off like bandits while we paid a heavy price.

    I know that a lot of people on this site don’t like Bloomberg. But in this case it is important to fight back against the selfish sanitation workers. Bloomberg will not have the strength to fight them if the people are against him. We should stick to Bloomberg on this one issue so that he can take the neccessary action against the unions for this incredible act of treachery.

    BTW, Sanitation workers are very well paid, and they have cushy contracts that let them quickly finish their outes in 2 hours and get paid for an 8 hour shift. This is legal stealing. Overtime is another killer

    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    13 years ago

    “stop complaining and start shoveling…”

    ISAAC11
    ISAAC11
    13 years ago

    Surveillance cameras in the area for the last 3 days should be watched. Proof will be there.

    Yaakov2
    Yaakov2
    13 years ago

    The Workers Unions in the USA are an out of control, LEGAL Mafia.

    You can’t win the mafia by street fighting them.

    The mafia is far stronger and will win and so you can’t start a war if you have no power to be able to win them.

    Every child understands that the Unions Mafia, is someone with whom it doesn’t pay to start up with and only a fool, would dare step on their tows and expect to come out OK.

    Rubashkin is in Jail only because he was so arrogant to think he can fight the unions.

    Does anyone TODAY, still think that Rubashkin had won and that the unions lost?

    The sooner Bloomberg learns from Rubashkin, the sooner our snow will get plowed.

    Can you imagine what happens if the NYPD or the Fire Dept. or the City Ambulance Drivers, try these very same, Sanitation Work Slowdown tactics?

    Do wee need to wait until after more similar disasters, before we learn that in the USA, our Legal System has been compromised by the laws which protect the Unions.

    There is no point in complaining, at how bad the unions are because there is nothing we can do to change it now – The Law is the Law and the Unions are KING (By Law) and they rule the USA workforce.

    Yaakov2
    Yaakov2
    13 years ago

    It’s not too late to catch all sanitation workers doing their dirty work on camera.

    This fight and slowdown by the Sanitation workers is not over yet.

    Everyone needs to get out their camcorder and record as much widespread wrongdoing by sanitation workers – the more footage the better.

    When Police depts. are guilty of Police brutality, it’s is only Camcorder footage which can break their unions. Without recorded video, it’s your word against theirs and they can make up lies that it was all accidental. The Video footage is always the only way we can secure a conviction against the wrongdoers.

    As of this minute Thursday, 11:34 pm, the sanitation workers are still playing the same game.

    Lets catch them on VIDEO, how they keep their plows high up and how the deliberately break their trucks and similar stuff.

    Remember that your camcorder video could help win this case especially if your video ends up going Viral on youtube.

    ALLAN
    ALLAN
    13 years ago

    Where was the outgoing Governor during all of this obvious slowdown…has he abandoned his post and duties? The National Guard should have been brought in to assist. The Guard has heavy equipment that could have been very helpful, and could have been used to transport sick to hospitals. At a minimum their Humvee’s could have been life savers.

    chayamom
    chayamom
    13 years ago

    Does anyone remember when the air traffic controllers went on strike. The pres gave them a time limit to get back to work or they’ll all be fired. They ignored the pres. He fired them and replaced them all.
    If Bloomberg had any guts he would have done the same. Don’t play their game–show some real leadership skills!!
    They should all be fired and replaced with non-union workers!!

    puppydogs
    puppydogs
    13 years ago

    I usually tip the sanitation works during the holiday time, well not this year my friend. I urge you to do the same.

    Crusty
    Crusty
    13 years ago

    Be very, very careful about believing stories based on 3 anonymous reports. Be very careful believing the story alleged by a long-time enemy of unions. And be very careful believing a story that Bloomberg & Co have every good reason to float.

    The Department of Sanitation did not call a snow emergency until after the snow started falling. Because they were late, hiring the private contractors was delayed, snow plowing and salt spreading was delayed, and buses were sent out to the streets when they normally would not have. Even if some sanitation workers worked slowly they would not have made a dent compared to the gross incompetence of the DSNY managers.