When we take our garbage and recycling to the curb, most of us give little thought to what happens next. Two hundred ILWU members in the Bay Area waste industry are mobilizing to change that by making the public more aware – and their employer more accountable for the wages, benefits and working conditions of the workers in this important, very profitable – but often invisible – industry.

Corporate greed at Waste Management

Waste Management is a powerful company that lives in the upper tier of the Fortune 500. They’re the top dog in America’s lucrative and sometimes corrupt waste and recycling industry, and have accumulated a long record of criminal, civil and administrative fines, settlements and convictions. Last year the company took in $12.5 billion and reported profits of $953 million. CEO David Steiner collected $7 million in pay and perks and enjoys the use of a private jet. But when it comes to paying employees and respecting union workers, company executives are stingy – they’re demanding pay cuts and benefit reductions for the rank and file.

Hard and dangerous work

“Our work is hard and sometimes dangerous, but most people don’t even realize what we do to
take care of everyone’s trash and recycling,” said Maria Sanchez, who works for Recycle America in San Leandro, CA, just a few blocks from Oakland’s International Airport.

More than 100 ILWU members are responsible for sorting the recycled materials that come to the sorting facility from residents in Oakland, San Leandro and another half-dozen East Bay communities. Most recycling workers spend their shift standing-up in front of conveyor belts that move continuous loads of trash, glass, paper and plastic that must be sorted quickly and accurately.

“There’s usually lots of dust and dirt, sometimes even dead animals or poop,” says Victoria León. “We often cut our hands on sharp glass and metal – and sometimes there are even dirty hypodermic needles.” In addition to the cuts and infections, there’s damage from repetitive stress injuries and the risk of
working around dangerous machinery.

Low pay and cutbacks

Recyclers aren’t paid fairly. More than two-thirds of the workers earn just $12.67 an hour or less, and their opportunities for advancement are few. A majority of these workers are women and most are Spanish-speaking immigrants. The low wages have left many families living on the edge of poverty, despite their full-time work.

Outsourcing union jobs

A few blocks away in a separate office building, more than two dozen ILWU members do clerical and customer service work. These jobs pay better, but Waste Management officials decided to outsource dozens of these positions in 2009 to a non-union operation in Washington State – a move seen by many as retaliation against local union members.

Many miles away, in the hills bordering the Bay Area, another group of ILWU members work
at the landfill where Teamster members deliver endless truckloads of trash. The ILWU members, who are mostly men, operate heavy equipment that buries the waste beneath layers of earth. These jobs are the best paying, with some workers earning over $28 per hour, but working around the dust, noise and filth is no picnic – and these jobs can be dangerous too. Other ILWU landfill workers direct traffic and perform other chores at the landfill, jobs that pay $22.10 and up.

Showing solidarity in 2007

Waste Management officials haven’t hesitated to play hardball when workers try to make improvements. In July of 2007, the company locked-out 500 Teamster drivers and 95 mechanics in the Machinists Union who had been negotiating without
uccess for months. The lockout seemed to surprise the drivers and it posed an immediate challenge to the 300 ILWU workers. Without exception, the ILWU members decided to support their locked-out co-workers by honoring the Teamster and Machinist
piket lines.

Waste Management retaliation

The show of olidarity by nearly one thousand East Bay employees enraged Waste Management officials, who expected their surprise lock-out to frighten other workers and dilute support for the Teamster picket line.

With additional support from other ILWU members who donated $50,000, the workers held firm for almost a month until the company was forced to negotiate a fair contract with Teamster members. After the lockout ended, Waste Management tried to retaliate against ILWU members by filing a lawsuit for honoring the Teamster picket line. The company also announced they would outsource dozens of good-paying clerical and customer service jobs to a non-union outfit in Washington State. That move left ILWU member Tiffany Douglas and many others out of work since October 31, 2009.

Ms. Douglas has looked for other jobs and has applied for various positions at Waste Management, but they said she “wasn’t qualified” – despite extensive skills and qualifications, including training experience. The recession has left her and
many others without a good replacement jobs to pay the bills and support their families.

Negotiations led nowhere

When it came time to renegotiate ILWU contracts, Waste Management officials were uncooperative. As a result, the recycling workers’ contract expired 10 months ago in January 2011; the landfill contract expired 19 months ago on May 31, 2010; and the clerical contract expired 25 months ago on Oct 31, 2009. The delays were designed by the company to undermine workers’ faith in the union, but it didn’t work.

Support from the International union

Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer, Business Agent Jose Nuñez and the Bargaining Committee engaged the ILWU International Union for assistance and began work on a joint plan to help waste workers take charge of the situation and win better contracts:

• Member meetings:  Workers in all three units were encouraged to attend meetings together where they could share their concerns and experiences, ask questions and make suggestions for winning better
contracts.

• Contract Action Teams (CATs): Volunteers agreed to take responsibility to talk with their co-workers about the need to be involved and take action.

• Bargaining Committee meetings: The Committee reviewed a proactive plan that called for more membership involvement and coordination with the CAT.

• Training sessions:  Workers learned about their rights on the job and the bargaining process.

• Research: Important facts about Waste Management’s national and local operations were analyzed then shared with Local 6 officers and members.

• Meetings with local elected officials: A list of elected officials who preside over service contracts with Waste Management was compiled and officials were then contacted. Scores of officials began meeting with waste workers, union officials and staff to learn more about the company’s practices.

• Public outreach:  Members began speaking at City Council meetings, County Board sessions and sanitation district meetings to explain the problems with Waste Management’s labor practices.

• Rallies at company headquarters: Workers held rallies in early November and December where they spoke out, received support from local elected officials, and won positive media coverage.

• Communication to keep everyone Informed: Flyers have been keeping workers aware of the latest developments and actions, making it harder for the company to divide and confuse employees.

•Coordination with other East Bay Unions: Other unions, including those representing workers at Waste Management, are offering their support and learning about what they can do to help ILWU members and hold the company more accountable.

All the work by members over the past few months is beginning to bear fruit. Waste Management officials have agreed to resume negotiations in January. And while everyone expects a tough fight, workers now see there’s a clear strategy to make progress and a way to win better contracts.

“We’re going into 2012 with more strength and more members involved,” said Skip Jepson. “If we stick together and keep fighting for what’s right, we can do this.”