Barrels of rotting fish guts,
dripping bags of dirty diapers, skinned cats, toxic chemicals and untold
gallons of unidentifiable goop.
These items top the list of the on-the-job indignities that garbage collector
Sanchez Hudson will recite for anyone who doesn't believe that the 600
San Francisco garbage collectors who went on strike Thursday deserve a
really good compensation package.
As they stood with their striking co-workers in front of the closed gates
of Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling Co., Hudson and fellow striker Jesus
Lopez explained that few people understand the gory intricacies of garbage
collection.
"Some people have quit because of the smell," Hudson said. "You get immune
to most of it, but some odors you never get used to. We have to clean the
worst areas of The City in the middle of the night. We're always watching
our backs."
The question plaguing Teamsters Local 350 workers and officials of Norcal
Waste Systems, which owns the two striking San Francisco garbage companies,
is what constitutes an adequate wage and benefits package.
"Fighting for retirement'
A Norcal spokesman said the company made what it thought was a fair offer
to increase wages by 19.3 percent over five years -- to an average salary
of $57,860. But, with little warning, the workers voted Wednesday night
to strike at 12:01 Thursday, many citing concerns about the pension plan
and retirement benefits.
"We're not fighting for the dollar, we're fighting for our retirement,"
said Hudson.
The two watched the gate of their company's plant on Berry Street with
a tinge of anxiety Thursday. For the most part it remained shut. But every
half hour or so an electronic device would slowly pull it open for one
of the few red and white garbage trucks now being driven by a small squad
of managers and other employees.
When the gate opened, the workers stepped aside to watch the trucks head
out for their jobs. For Hudson and Lopez, the usual work "day" begins at
10 or 11 at night. Lopez rushes to Union Square, where he often has to
compete with homeless people to get first crack at the trash.
"You've got to get the garbage as soon as you can or else it will be scattered
everywhere," said Lopez. "In Union Square, everything has to be really
clean."
Meanwhile Hudson heads to the narrow alleys of Chinatown, climbing stairs
to hoist burlap sacks containing fish parts, chicken feathers and other
waste to his truck.
"Imagine hoisting a 90-gallon can of fish guts. It can weigh up to 400
pounds" said Hudson, who works with a partner and uses wheels and lifting
techniques to get the job done. "It's really physical. We're the only garbage
company that does garbage the old-fashioned way: We have to go and get
it."
Competing for garbage
In the middle of the night, there's a lot more going on in San Francisco
than garbage collection.
Hudson said that to get the trash, workers often have to fight off treasure
hunters, homeless people and even thieves who scavenge rubbish looking
for receipts with people's credit card numbers on them.
"You're competing with everyone out there -- for garbage!" said Hudson,
who said workers have found a few gems in the trash themselves, including
expensive cameras, TV's and hand tools.
Lopez said he once became a hapless participant in a police chase, when
the bad guys ran around his truck with several officers on their tails
and dumped their gun into his trash bin.
Another time, he moved a particularly heavy trash bin to the truck and
had almost pushed the button to dump its contents into the rear trash compartment
when a man started screaming from inside the bin. The homeless man, who
had been sleeping in the trash, nearly got hauled to the dump.
"He jumped up and started yelling. He was really scared," said Lopez.
Even at 5 or 6 a.m., after the last of the trash has been collected, the
workers have a hard time putting the day's rubbish behind them.
"When you go home, you have to completely disrobe before you can walk in
the house," said Hudson, who has two children. "You don't know what you're
carrying. It could be cockroaches, feces -- you don't know what you've
gotten into."
Then there's the question of what to say to social acquaintences. "People
say "What do you do?' and I say "I'm a truck driver, Lopez said. Good job,
good company
But despite their back-breaking jobs, both Hudson and Lopez said it wasn't
easy to walk out on strike.
"It's a good job and this is a good company to work for," Hudson said.
"But we haven't had a good contract in four years."
Company spokesman Robert Reed said Norcal officials believe their last
contract offer was favorable to the workers.
"We hold our collectors in very high esteem," Reed said. "It's a tough
job that not a lot of people want to do. We've been negotiating for six
months. We didn't expect them to strike."
Hudson and Lopez hope the strike ends soon, because they aren't looking
forward to what will await them if it goes on more than a couple of days.
"When we get holidays on New Year's and Christmas, the garbage is always
piled up when we get back," Hudson said. "When we go back to work (from
this strike,) its going to be a mess."
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