Last year, numerous Raleigh sanitation workers stopped working for a couple of days to protest what they considered unfair working conditions and low wages.
Now, one year later, many of those same unfair working condition claims are being made and approximately 70-75% of the workers have joined a union even though by state law, the union has no authority or power to negotiate with the city. The N&O documents the events here.
(Let me stop here to point out the irony in complaining about low wages, yet voluntarily forking over union dues to a union that has absolutely no power and is not recognized for negotiations. Why not stop paying union dues and give yourself a de facto pay increase?)
But there is a very quick and simple solution to this problem:
Get the City of Raleigh out of the sanitation business.
I’m sure there’s a company or two or three who might be willing to bid on the contract. And who knows, it may just save us citizens of Raleigh some money.
I 100% agree with the notion that Raleigh should get out of the trash business.