CANTON — By coming together and speaking out, our members working at the St. Lawrence County Solid Waste Department recently stopped county lawmakers from outsourcing jobs.
It was a big victory for a small group of workers who aren’t typically active in our union.
“We’re a small unit, so we don’t have a lot of need to be real active in our union, but when something like this comes along, we band together to make sure we’re protecting our public services and jobs,” said Unit President Tim Dawley.
CSEA represents about a dozen workers in the department, who operate the county’s four solid waste transfer stations and haul waste from them to the regional landfill.
When the county proposed potentially outsourcing the solid waste services, a move that could jeopardize the quality of public services, our members stood together to advocate to keep the services public.
Several CSEA members, including Dawley and St. Lawrence County Local President Amy Simmons, recently spoke against the outsourcing plan at a recent St. Lawrence County Legislature meeting at which lawmakers were planning to vote on a resolution to seek bids from private companies to outsource their trash hauling work.
Simmons urged the legislators to seek money-saving ideas from the employees before outsourcing their work.
“Last year, we worked with the county to find savings in health insurance and it was our union workers who knew the best ways to save money and keep control,” Simmons said. “Why would you not have the people who do the work and who know how things work give their input on finding cost savings?”
Simmons also questioned the need for cutting or outsourcing essential public services.
“When are you going to stop trying to get rid of services and start trying to bring in businesses?” she asked legislators.
Dawley reminded lawmakers that a prior cost benefit analysis recommended against outsourcing the county’s solid waste operations.
Following that study, county officials purchased more than $1 million in additional equipment for the department over the past few years. Dawley noted that these purchases would be a waste of taxpayer money if they outsourced operations.
“They were going to sign this equipment over to the highest bidder and still continue making payments for them,” Dawley said. “I didn’t think the county had any business financing equipment for a private operator.”
Several other workers spoke out against the outsourcing plan. When it came to a vote, the measure was defeated in a tie, as it needed a majority to pass.
Simmons said she is proud of our members’ actions.
“I think this again shows what it means to be a union member, to all come together, not just for themselves, but for all the people in the county who benefit from their services,” she said. “They take great pride in their work, and
I’m proud to support them, knowing how hard they work and the great job they do.”
— Mark M. Kotzin
