By the way, the union gave up stint work years ago - the Mayor kept using it. The idea was to get those trucks OFF the streets and out of everybodys way. However, it also became a convenient way to make believe that it was now somehow the union taking advantage of the taxpayers. That was political bullshit in a political season.
It is not about him running for office this time. It's about making himself look like he is doing something for the taxpayers - when he is really not.
Now the Mayor claims he has received at least 50 complaints this week about garbage not being picked up as it used to be.
We bet a few of those compalints were, "Hey, I'm stuck behind these dam trucks that were never in the way before!"
So he runs to the paper, tells us when he was born - which was at night - which also explains why he is so in the dark on everything - and bashes the union. He, along with his anti-union sidekick Barney Fife aka Robert Senor. Who by the way, is a staunchly non union mumbling windbag anyway.
“I will not tolerate” the continued delays in pickups said the Mayor. Nice sound bite. What he needs to also say is he will stop his supervisors from cramming extra rules down the workers throats. Can't drive over 10 mph or you will be suspended. Hurry up and drive 10 mph doesn't seem to go right - does it? And if I catch you driving 11 mph you can go home for 30 days. Hmmmmm, that would slow me down in this economy too.
Bart Robins, president of the Kingston unit of the Civil Service Employees Association, said he is aware of the delays in trash pickup but said they are unavoidable and that this is just a poorly thought out plan. This is not by any means a calculated effort on the part of the union to slow down the process.
Anyone with a little common sense can clearly see that starting later in the morning - which means less time to get to the transfer station - and getting threatened with suspension for going over 10 mph are two issues that are surely adding to the problem at hand.
A real Mayor would get his City of Kingston provided boots on and ride those trucks to see what was going on.
This is the exact situation he claimed he needed the CITY TAXPAYERS to buy WORKBOOTS for him and the other office girls inside of City Hall.
Let's go Jimmy - grab your friend Barney and hit the back of the truck - then come back and tell us what's wrong and how easy it is. Remember, 10 mph or you go home for 30 days. No cheatin now.
Maybe Paul Kirby can follow you both and do a story on it for us.
19 comments:
I am not a big fan of unions, but Sottile seems to pick fights just for the sake of picking fights. Even I can see the logic of stint work in this case and understood that if stint work were taken away, then the workers would begin to take their lunch and coffee breaks as well as not take as many short cuts in their work, such as putting the lids back on the cans.
Right on Bullhorner, the mayor, Senor, or superintendent Mike Schupp have NEVER run behind a trash truck and picked up an average per truck 11 tons of trash, and they never will! Mike Schupp should be looking out for his guys on this issue, but lets face it he was brought here to kiss Sottile ass and fuck the worker.
I see Billy "the bullshitter" Reynolds talking shit in the Kingston Times blaming the trash problem on "the ongoing dispute" between the CSEA "leadership" and the Mayor. What Alderman Reynolds fails to mention is that there is NEW leadership within CSEA and that the workers HATE Sottile and Superintendent Schupp, the Mayors PUP !! There is MAJOR FUCKING LABOR UNREST in Kingston folks. As long as Sottile is at the helm there will continue to be . And as long as designated dunski Schupp continues to fuck with the work force he too will have a rough ride as DPW boss...
As a taxpayer I had blamed the union for the woes of this city. But that is in the past. I have now heard both sides and I believe the Mayor has put the blame on the Union as a way to divert attention away from his ineptitude in managing city affairs. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he negotiate the last Union contract for the rights and benefits the union now has? Once you sign a contract you should honor it and if you had no intention of doing so then stay out of the role of negotiator. Or better yet, find another line of work. The mayor's actions clearly show why a Union is needed and I have never really been a fan of Unions until this lastest incident. What protection would these workers have if it was left up to the whims of whoever was in government or in power. Yeah, there is a stench in the air but it not coming from the garbage curbside but directly from city hall. The Mayor may have inadvertently put the Union in a better light with this latest incident of doing away with stint work.
The garbage pickup job is very strenuous. That is why it should be automated using the special garbage cans and the trucks that lift them mechanically. Waste Management does a good job of this. Very efficient and saves the workers from hurting themselves. My husband observed the garbage pickup on Thursday morning. Workers were moving VERY SLOWLY walking over to the garbage cans and VERY SLOWLY returning the empty ones. This is not a 10mph problem; it is a purposeful slowdown and everyone knows it. Also, on Wednesday morning, my husband and I saw a Kingston City garbage truck on our road for the first time in 34 years. We live outside the City by a few miles. No reason for the truck to be on this road -- no city property, not on the way to a transfer station. Isn't it interesting that this extraneous mileage coincides with the "slow down." You're not fooling anyone.
New leadership in CSEA same old asshole Mayor. Put your boots on and show us how to do it with all the rules you just added.
Charlie Landi should be ashamed of himself, he was endorsed by CSEA and we find him slamming the trash workers in the freeman and talking about privitizing! Maybe he and Barney Fife Senor have been drinking coffee together uptown at Dunkin Donuts. Landi has totally sold out. Mike Schupp and asshole Landi used to be thick as thieves when they were on council together and now Landi has Schupp's back on fucking with the employees. Schupp needs to go back to fucking Highland where he belongs and givbe us back our jeep and gas he uses everyday traveling to and fro from Highland.
Hey Bullhorner the Mayor was pounded over the stint issue last night at the publc hearing. If the Mayor and Schupp would only come out of their tax payer funded jeeps and got on the back of the trucks they would soon find out how hard that job really is. More than one politians kid have come and gone on those trucks.
ALso last night a letter from John Tuey (comptroller) stated he has NO IDEA who has take home trucks and who doesn't. This administration is a joke
Hey Bullhorner Ed Sweeney the assistant superintendent in charge of sanitation is trying to scare the workers by showing them a clause in the contract. Its on page 31 he says. He is talking about the no strike no slowdown clause.
This ignorant asshole has no idea what he is talking about. If the union orders a slow down or strike the president will be jailed nd the union fined. He thinks he can fire the workers for following the work rules.
7:36, the real shame about Assist. Superintendent Sweeny trying to use a clause in contract to HURT the workers is that he ia a UNION MEMBER HIMSELF!! He and the other Assist, Ed Boyle actually try to come up with ways to work against the workforce. They need to read thier job descriptions and notice that a big part of both thier jobs is to INCREASE THE QUALITY OF SAFETY for the workers!
Mike Schupp the Mayor's PuP(pet) Is how is refered to around City Hall. He is only here to do the Mayors bidding. He cannot even implement his own plans. Lumpy keeps pulling his strings
The city of kingstons payroll is mighty top heavy with bosses and foreman, that is where some of the trimming needs to occur, if not this budget year maybe next year! We do not need TWO assistant superintendents and TWO senior plant operators at the treatment plant. As a matter of fact, Allen Winchell is the 2nd senior plant operator and he holds that position because he happens to live right next door to Mayor Sottile! Most of the men that work under Wincell know that he has his head right up Sottile's ass as well as managements and they fucking HATE him for it! The same goes for Sweeny. My point is, that if we are gonna trim, lets trim where the most fat is, at the top. Laying off REC. leaders and laborers only hurts the people. I feel compelled to speak up on this labor blob on this issue, bullhorner. Thanks for giving us a voice!
ANYONE WITH TRASH PICK UP PROBLEMS CAN CALL 234-0701 CITY OWNED CELL PHONE OF THE HEAD OF SANITATION
Tuey probably doesn't know himself because he is not told. It is someone's responsibility to know but unless Tuey is told he can't be held responsible for not knowing--but it does obviously reflect on how this administration doesn't have its act together.
Of course it's obvious and highly so how this administration IS a joke. This Mayor keeps on making this worse based on some idea he is making himself look better--and the irony of the situation is the worse feedback he gets the more he seems to want to do more stupid things. It is also more than somewhat remarkable the extent to which most folks can readily see through his bullcrap in this regard who identify themselves as taxpayers.
Schupp is not going back to Highland to do something else, thanks to this Mayor and Council, which ignored Charter 110-2 and 110-4 both in spirit and letter by allowing Schupp to be hired in the first place in controversion of Charter 110-2(residency radius requirement of ten miles for city employees). It follows that if the Mayor and Council desire breaking the law to insist on Schupp, then the rest of the bullcrap Schupp does can't be a "surprise in that context." It's called "governing by breaking your own laws." And unless challenged in the courts by someone--it's legal. School children need to be taught this is how things are run in Kingston as part of "learning civics through observing how local government works."
Of course, challenged in the courts, perhaps it will be found to be as illegal as it obviously and certainly is--by definition. Purely partisan politics from the political party that has traditional been identified as a "friend of labor".
As reported earlier Schupp is there to simply cozy up to what the Mayor wants--not be his own man with any of his own ideas, good, bad, or indifferent....not to think for himself, as this Mayor considers doing any such thing--including considering SAFETY--anathema to his own cause of bashing the worker to make himself look like he is doing something good. He most obviously additionally considers the "Jeanne Edwards affair" a personal affront to be dealt with by retaliatory firing, as if the placement of human doo-doo in her workgloves weren't enough humiliation for anyone--adult male, adult female, or child---and the fact he did so renders future harrassment of any worker more likely given the overall lack of concern he himself has demonstrated for the worker, the department, and the choosing of leadership by appointment. While sexual harrassment is surely not an issue unique to any one governmental department or any company for that matter--the level of abject lack of concern demonstrated by this incident and its handling demonstrates that there is no real leadership in this city PERIOD--the other issues only ADD to the evidence of this lack.
I personally am not sure I agree with "top heaviness" being the CORE issue at DPW--perhaps so but I see a deeper issue as to how no one has ever done a systematic study to determine how the functions of DPW could be improved in terms of efficiency and safety to both workers and public--thus delivering to all residents something like something better such as clearing ice sometime sooner than ten days after last year's ice storm(how is ANYONE supposed to get around under such circumstances, much less expect there won't be added work from the extra potholes in the roads that result as a result of inadequate prevention?), even considering that certainly the overall task of DPW is large. There is a point to be made that the work seems to get done in a more effective manner in neighboring areas--there has to be SOME reason for that. The politicians don't see public safety issues it seems--they only see themselves, and it most certainly does stink worse than garbage left anywhere. Bash the union, don't look at anything else....and never ever ever look at job titles versus simple common sense and designing something that might just "work better" as a result....that's NEVER DONE as WE KNOW...
Pay to throw is a hidden tax and will go up every year just like the sewer tax has.Then you can add extra cash for the things that don't fit inside the bags they want to force you to buy from them.Can anyone remember the City of Kingston lowering your property tax? Not going to happen the property taxes will still go up every year also.
In case anyone wants to check out what kind of character this Mayor has, please go to the ulster publishing boards and read some recent posts there.
He goes on the radio giving the impression he's such a nice guy, but wait'll you see the crap he's posted there....oh, and his nickname is "Black Knight"--which in reality is not all that bad a nickname to describe his personality.
In response to "Ernest Renn Jr.'s letter to the Freeman: As one of the Kingston City School District employees that attended the public meeting that Ernie spoke at on Nov. 5th,I attended as a fellow union member and supporter of our city union employees.
You are correct Ernie, enough is enough. Remember, the Kingston City School District is the number one employer in this city, perhaps the county. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford the taxes of this city. Layoffs in our district will affect this city. Layoffs will be the newly hired that have chosen to stay and work in this city. Layoffs will be the young adults that will be able to relocate to find jobs in other districts.
You will get your 7% in 2011 and I support that. Support your fellow union members. Don't bite the hands that feed you.
I looked around City Hall the night of the meeting knowing that I am working without a contract and wondered how much support we would receive. Well, I know how Ernie feels.
Support your fellow union members.
Jim Sottile does not deserve to be called "Mayor". He is not a mayor, he is a fucking disturbed man posing as a mayor and he is blinded by his hatred of unions in general and when it is time for the next mayoral election us union people need to go buck fucking wild in that race to bring in some SANITY to that office. period.
Bullhorner, alderman Madsen put on his boots last week and worked on back of a packer with the men all day! At the end of his run he was convinced that the mayor was wrong in removing stint from the trash pickup. Madsen deserves credit for leading by example and actually experimenting and coming to conclusion that following safety rules and working all day on packers CANNOT GET TRASH UP ON TIME, thereby proving that asshole Sottile once again making poor decisions at the helm.
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