Sanitation Department's slow snow cleanup was a budget protest

[cavegal]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/sanit_filthy_snow_slow_mo_qH57MZwC53QKOJlekSSDJK 

Selfish Sanitation Department bosses from the snow-slammed outer boroughs ordered their drivers to snarl the blizzard cleanup to protest budget cuts -- a disastrous move that turned streets into a minefield for emergency-services vehicles, The Post has learned.

Mark Steyn said on Rush's show that at least 2 people died.

[dandi]

**** a union

[Evil_Conservative]

One was a newborn baby.

Cut the unions off.

[thundley4]

The union leaders are complete assholes and idiots for doing this.  Haven't they even been paying attention to the severe budget deficits ?  They need to try and foster all the good will from the public they can, but instead they pull this kind of BS.

[Ptarmigan]

Unions are useless. Why do they bother being snowplowers? 

[DefiantSix]

( I already posted this in the DUmpster thread on the topic, but dammit, I'm post whoring today and I'll post it here as well if I damned well want to.)

I really am looking forward to the next Ronaldus Magnus; the one who will respond to this kind of shinannigan from public employee unions by firing the worthless asses of every clown that participates, and then making them compete with the rest of the open market to get their jobs back at a significant fraction of their former princely salaries.

[debk]

There's a guy on Fox News now, NYC Councilman Dan Halloran(R)...saying that the workers were told by their supervisors to do a poor job of snow cleanup and to sabotage the cleanup. Over 500 union workers called in sick that day which is 10% of the work force of 5,000.

The Councilman is from Queens, and he's saying that he knows it was done in his district. Several union workers "confessed" to Halloran that they were told to sabotage the cleanup by their supervisors and union bosses.

NY governor is calling for a criminal investigation into the situation.

[thundley4]

There's a guy on Fox News now, NYC Councilman Dan Halloran(R)...saying that the workers were told by their supervisors to do a poor job of snow cleanup and to sabotage the cleanup. Over 500 union workers called in sick that day which is 10% of the work force of 5,000.

The Councilman is from Queens, and he's saying that he knows it was done in his district. Several union workers "confessed" to Halloran that they were told to sabotage the cleanup by their supervisors and union bosses.

NY governor is calling for a criminal investigation into the situation.

I would love to see those that lost love ones sue the union for wrongful death, but that would probably be a stretch.

[Evil_Conservative]

I don't get why these union employees cannot think/act for themselves.  Is that why they join a union in the first place?  So someone is always there to tell them what to do?

I've never been in a union, nor do I ever plan to join one.

Had I been in one of those worker's shoes, I would have still got into my plow and started clearing the streets.  F the union.

[Evil_Conservative]

I would love to see those that lost love ones sue the union for wrongful death, but that would probably be a stretch.

I'm sure they can try.  If they have enough evidence that shows that the EMT vehicles could have responded in a timely matter had the city cleared the streets, I think they could win.

[Freeper]

My God whatever happened to common decency and common sense.
If you want to protest then feel free too but, do it at the right place and time. Don't put people's lives in danger so you can throw a hissy fit.
I hope like crazy that this union ends up paying dearly for the shit they pulled. Who knows one of these jackwagons may need medical attention someday but the doctor may just decide to go on strike while they flatline. 

[txradioguy]

As New York City finishes cleaning up the mess of the recent debilitating blizzard, it also faces allegations that union workers entrusted with cleaning up the mess of snow decided to stage a slowdown as the blizzard hit.

The plan was to snarl the blizzard cleanup to protest budget cuts, several sources and a city lawmaker told the New York Post. The lawmaker, City Councilman Dan Halloran, underscored those claims in an interview Thursday on Fox News' "Your World."

Halloran said he met with three plow workers from the Sanitation Department -- and two Department of Transportation supervisors who were on loan -- at his office after he was flooded with irate calls from constituents. The workers said the work slowdown was pushed by supervisors, not the unions, as the result of growing hostility between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the workers responsible for clearing the snow.

"They're saying that the shops that they worked in ... basically had the go ahead to take their time, that they wouldn't be be supervised, that if they missed routes it wasn't going to be a problem," Halloran told Fox News.

In the last two years, the agency's workforce has been slashed by 400 trash haulers and supervisors -- down from 6,300 -- because of the city's budget crisis. And, effective Friday, 100 department supervisors are to be demoted and their salaries slashed as an added cost-saving move. Sources said budget cuts were also at the heart of poor planning for the blizzard last weekend.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/30/union-workers-reportedly-staged-slowdown-new-york-city-battled-blizzard/?test=latestnews?test=latestnews

[Thor]

Pretty much a dupe: http://www.conservativecave.com/index.php/topic,53323.0.html

[NHSparky]

Greek-style "austerity" riots, coming to an American city near you in 2012!!!

[Chris_]

Sanitation workers targeted specific neighborhoods

The selfish Sanitation bosses who sabotaged the blizzard cleanup to fire a salvo at City Hall targeted politically connected and well-heeled neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn to get their twisted message across loud and clear, The Post has learned.

Their motives emerged yesterday as the city's Department of Investigation admitted it began a probe earlier this week after hearing rumblings of a coordinated job action.

Sources told The Post several neighborhoods were on the workers' hit list -- including Borough Park and Dyker Heights in Brooklyn and Middle Village in Queens -- because residents there have more money and their politicians carry big sticks.

New York Post

[DumbAss Tanker]

Screw the lawsuits, some people need to go to jail for this.

[debk]

Sources told The Post several neighborhoods were on the workers' hit list -- including Borough Park and Dyker Heights in Brooklyn and Middle Village in Queens -- because residents there have more money and their politicians carry big sticks.
 

NewYorkPost


If the last is true...then those union workers need to realize that their union bosses pointed them down a very bad path. Those people with money? those politicians with big sticks? "Those people and politicians" will have those union workers heads' on platters!! In jail if possible, job loss most certainly!

People died! A baby died! "Those people" elect "those politicians" and "those people" will see to it that "those politician" take serious actions against these union workers, or "those people" will make sure that "those politicians" don't get re-elected!!

Union workers, every where in the country, regardless of what union they belong to....need to look at this situation with really clear eyes and examine just what their own union is doing for them, and in particular, just what their own union is telling them to do. This situation in NYC is a perfect example of acting upon what "Simon says...." rather than thinking for oneself and wondering if what "Simon says...." is really a good thing. "Simon" doesn't pay the mortgage and utilities, or buy the groceries or put gas in the car for the workers' families..

[true_blood]

There's a guy on Fox News now, NYC Councilman Dan Halloran(R)...saying that the workers were told by their supervisors to do a poor job of snow cleanup and to sabotage the cleanup. Over 500 union workers called in sick that day which is 10% of the work force of 5,000.

The Councilman is from Queens, and he's saying that he knows it was done in his district. Several union workers "confessed" to Halloran that they were told to sabotage the cleanup by their supervisors and union bosses.

NY governor is calling for a criminal investigation into the situation.

I saw the same thing on Fox Business Network Deb. There should be a criminal investigation.
A baby dies because the street weren't plowed correctly. That's despicable. I hope to those that are responsible pay dearly. Set an example.

[Lacarnut]

I doubt anything will happen to these supervisors cause unions are a protected class. Union bosses will do a CYA and Obama and Holder will support them.

[Rainbow Rising]

I live in Dyker Heights.  My street didn't see a plow until Wednesday afternoon, but after it went through things looked pretty much the same.  It wasn't until Thursday that the snow was properly cleared from the street.

Things are slowly returning to normal, no thanks to the city.  I think Mother Nature did more to get rid of snow the past couple of days, as we've had mostly sunny weather and temperatures in the 40's.  This has been an ugly experience.  If the Sanitation guys really did dog it, they must be punished.  A public flogging might be a good start.

[debk]

I live in Dyker Heights.  My street didn't see a plow until Wednesday afternoon, but after it went through things looked pretty much the same.  It wasn't until Thursday that the snow was properly cleared from the street.

Things are slowly returning to normal, no thanks to the city.  I think Mother Nature did more to get rid of snow the past couple of days, as we've had mostly sunny weather and temperatures in the 40's.  This has been an ugly experience.  If the Sanitation guys really did dog it, they must be punished.  A public flogging might be a good start.

Good to hear that you and yours are ok from this experience.

It's going to take the regular everyday working people in your area to rise up in protest and demand that something be done by the city/state to these workers and in particular their supervisors.

If the regular people, who were affected by this whole mess, don't protest -often and loudly- until something is done, this entire situation will get swept under the proverbial rug.

[Ptarmigan]

I doubt anything will happen to these supervisors cause unions are a protected class. Union bosses will do a CYA and Obama and Holder will support them.

Let's hope the Republicans in Congress put a lid on corruption from Obama and Holder.

[Ptarmigan]

I live in Dyker Heights.  My street didn't see a plow until Wednesday afternoon, but after it went through things looked pretty much the same.  It wasn't until Thursday that the snow was properly cleared from the street.

Things are slowly returning to normal, no thanks to the city.  I think Mother Nature did more to get rid of snow the past couple of days, as we've had mostly sunny weather and temperatures in the 40's.  This has been an ugly experience.  If the Sanitation guys really did dog it, they must be punished.  A public flogging might be a good start.

New York has had bigger blizzards than this one and they did not have problems like we saw. Granted it happened during the Christmas holidays, but still no excuse for the workers did. They should of cleared the snow out once the blizzard is over. New York is a major city that is always busy.

[Rainbow Rising]

Good to hear that you and yours are ok from this experience.

I had a lot of help from my next door neighbor and his snowblower.  I don't think I would have made it without him.  I feel really lucky, because I only suffered some relatively minor inconveniences from all this -- not being able to go to the supermarket, for example.  I can't imagine how awful it must have been for people who had to deal with health emergencies.

On the plus side, I did get to see something I've never seen before: a man driving a snowmobile down my street!