Cleaning Up

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

 Cleaning Up
Environmentally and Economically,
Recycling Makes Sense
The formation of the new Solid Waste, Recycling and Related
Industries Division at the Teamsters allows for a greater focus on
these and many other goals, priorities and concerns of workers in
all waste-related industries.
Bob Morales, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 350 in Daly City,
California, was appointed by General President Jim Hoffa to be
The Teamsters Union currently represents 30,000 members
in solid waste alone, and the top two companies, Waste Manage-
ment and Allied Waste, are among the largest Teamster employers.
Morales will lead the fight to bring strong Teamster representation
to the more than 150,000 sanitation workers who are not orga-
nized, as the trend to privatize the industry continues.
the new Waste Division Director. Morales brings to the position “Our mission is to make sure we organize all of the unorga-

“I
years of expertise in organizing and bargaining contracts for nized companies across the nation,” Morales said. “We plan to
t’s a success, it really is,” said Teamster members in sanitation and recycling. Morales is also work to coordinate collective bargaining agreements with com-
Thomas Wray, a recycling worker a big believer in recycling and its economic and environmental mon expiration dates with multiple companies across the nation
at Allied Waste in Bellevue, Washington and upsides. so we’ll have more bargaining power. Jobs in this industry are
a shop steward for Local 117 in Tukwila, in “Recycling is not only great for the environment, but it creates very secure because they cannot really be outsourced, so this will
reference to recycling programs in his area. “Management a wealth of new jobs because you have to hire additional people to make us grow. It’s really just a matter of time.”
told us themselves that there’s been a noticeable reduction sort and separate the waste,” Morales said. “These are jobs that are
pretty clearly created exclusively by recycling.” Economic Impact
in garbage because of how well we’ve been informing the According to the NRC, recycling creates 1.1 million jobs, generates $37
public that recycling pays off.” Important Industry billion in payrolls and produces $236 billion in gross sales annually.
The trend is not just specific to the Seattle area. Across the United Ron Herrera, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 396 in Covina, Cali- Recycling leads to the creation of new businesses to transport,
States, recycling is working. And because recycling works, thousands fornia, and Terry Hancock, President of Local 731 in Burr Ridge, sort and broker recovered materials. These jobs include chemists,
of Teamsters across the country are working as well. Illinois, join Morales as division leaders. Herrera was appointed dispatchers, material sorters, process engineers, sales representa-
That is the overall finding of The U.S. Recycling Economic Division Coordinator for the West while Hancock was named tives, brokers and truck drivers. Many of these positions are cre-
Information (REI) Study, commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Division Coordinator for the Central region. ated in inner-city areas—where job creation is crucial—and typi-
Protection Agency (EPA) and various states in cooperation with the “I am confident that this team brings together the seriousness cally pay higher than the average national wage.
National Recycling Coalition (NRC). According to the nationwide of purpose, long experience in bargaining, organizing and strong The REI study also showed that recycling indirectly impacts 1.4
study, the recycling industry plays a vital role in boosting the U.S. leadership skills necessary to launch new growth and initiatives in million additional workers, such as those employed at office supply
economy through economic development and job creation. this important Teamster industry,” Hoffa said. companies and accounting firms, which are supported and supplied

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 by the recycling industry. These jobs were found to generate $52 bil-
lion in payroll and $173 billion in receipts. Recycling also adds value
to materials, which can then be resold for a profit.
“Companies have already figured out recycling is big business
and are making enormous collection and sales profits from the
industry,” Morales said.
Since 80 percent of recycling profits go to federal and state gov-
ernments, recycling also hugely benefits communities financially.

Hard Work
However, the individuals who work in the waste industry know
it takes an enormous amount of time and effort to produce the
gains recycling affords.
Workers at the TRI-CED recycling warehouse in Union
City, California have been members of Local 70 in Oakland for
approximately four years. The company collects 1,100 tons of
recyclables from more than 60,000 homes in Union City and
Hayward each month.
This is not an uncommon experience for industry workers
across the nation.
“At every stop, we lift bundles that weigh a maximum of
65 pounds and maneuver 90 gallon totes that weigh up to 250
pounds, so there’s a lot of physical stress involved daily in this job,” Risky Business
Wray said. “You make one wrong move and there goes your back.” Jobs in the industry can also be very unsafe. The fatality rates for
sanitation workers during some years have been as much as 10 agement costs and fosters the local economy.
times higher than the overall national job fatality rate. In fact, With both private citizens and businesses
waste collectors held one of the most dangerous jobs in the coun- jumping on the recycling bandwagon in increas-
try from 1992 to 1997, according to the NRC. ing numbers, the industry is rapidly expanding.
Environmental Impact “These workers are out driving in all types of weather, getting
in and out of their trucks, dealing with traffic and other hazards,”
According to the EPA, more than a quarter of all
municipal solid waste produced in the United

R ecycling is one of the most important environmental

successes of the past century. According to the experts,
recycling:
said Wil Rance, a business agent in charge of the recycling branch
at Local 117. “It’s a dangerous job.”
Waste companies also frequently pay workers by how much
States is recycled and the quantity of material
that is collected for recycling continues to grow.
Almost 9,000 counties and cities currently
n Reduces air and water pollutants; waste they collect as opposed to how many hours they work, goes up instead of just reaching blindly into a pile.” operate programs for curbside recycling collection—a nine-fold
n Conserves natural resources, such as coal, iron ore, which often results in them increasing their rate of work to an Teamster members working in the industry in Seattle have increase in just a single decade.
limestone, minerals, timber and water; unsafe level. Accidents and injuries commonly follow, many of also witnessed improvements that have greatly enhanced their “A lot of communities are just beginning or expanding their
n Reduces the need for mining and logging; which are serious enough to permanently remove these workers work lives. recycling programs,” Hererra said.
n Prevents soil erosion; and from the work force. “In the state of Washington, companies can work employees
n Prevents habitat destruction.
“The only way you are guaranteed to have a decent working up to 14 hours per day,” Wray said. “Luckily, with our collective An Exciting Future
environment—inside or out of a facility—is if you have a union bargaining agreement, we have an article in our contract that says “It’s really taking off fast,” Morales said. “Garbage jobs are quickly
Recycling also conserves landfill and incinerator space by
contract,” Hererra said, Deputy Director of the Solid Waste, Recy- the company can work us the occasional 10 hours but anything turning into recycling jobs and electronic recycling is becom-
reducing the need for it. In conjunction with composting, recy-
cling and Related Industries Division. “The Teamsters help workers after that must be put in writing. So, we know we can’t be over- ing a bigger part of the industry, which is going to make it even
cling redirected almost 70 million tons of material from incin-
ensure they are working in sanitary and safe facilities, provided with used—and this is important because you feel the effects of 10- larger than it is today. States and cities across the country want to
erators and landfills in 2000. This was up from 34 million tons
protective clothing, paid well and allowed to take breaks. We want hour days, especially if they’re compounded over a week.” increase their recycling goals. Currently, California is the number
in 1990—a 36 million ton increase, doubling in only 10 years.
to raise the standards for safety and compensation and provide job one state in the country for recycling and San Francisco is up to
“These programs are really important,” said Larry Daugh- security to whistle blowers who report violations. The only way for Silencing the Critics 72 percent recycling with a mission to go higher and higher. It’s
erty, a business agent for Local 350 in Daly City, California. workers to have all of this is to be unionized.” One of the biggest drawbacks of recycling, according to critics, a big deal here in California—a state that is often ahead of the
“Whatever can be pulled out and recycled is good because it is the expense. However, properly run recycling programs actu- game—and other states will continue to follow suit.”
benefits the environment and, ultimately, we’re going to run Union Advantage ally cost less to operate than incineration, landfilling and waste The recycling industry is not only growing in size, but it is also
out of landfill space. So, we need to try to reuse materials Workers at Norcal Waste Systems in San Francisco already enjoy collection. expanding in terms of the types of materials it encompasses.
any way we can.” the benefits that come with being Teamster members, including a Many options are made available to communities in order to “We’re already seeing things that used to be thrown in garbage
Recycling saves energy as well. In 2000, recycling pro- superior work environment. make their recycling programs more cost effective, including “pay cans being recycled,” Morales said. “For example, paint is being
duced an energy savings equal to the amount of energy used “It is definitely a state of the art facility—especially in compar- as you throw” programs, maximizing recycling rates and adding recycled to where you can use it over and over and, in the state
in 6 million homes. By saving such a significant amount of ison to many nonunion facilities I’ve seen,” said Larry Daugherty, incentives to waste management contracts that encourage dis- of California, it is against the law to throw away batteries—they
energy, recycling also reduces our dependence on foreign oil. a business agent for Local 350. “It is fully automated. The materi- posal companies to recycle more and throw away less. must be put in containers and recycled. They’re now also convert-
als are presorted by machinery and it all goes up on belts, which The more people recycle, the cheaper it gets. When a commu- ing recycling into power. It’s a key industry and a lot of exciting
makes it much safer because the workers can see everything that nity reduces its waste stream, it also reduces its solid waste man- things are going to happen.”

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