LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG - I'm Talking TRASH! Really, I Am!
THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!
Both me and my Pup Reporter, GRACIE MOSS, had to work on this post today. This is a dirty story, and she is helping me with the dirty work.
It's all about TRASH - GARBAGE, that is! More appropriately, City of Chicago Streets and Sanitation Garbage Pick-Up Crews.
While many humans (and most dogs) would NEVER do this kind of dirty work, they pay is good! In Chicago, the typical Garbage Truck Driver earns $30.70 per hour, while the typical Garbage Laborer earns $28.90. Both workers earn in excess of $60,000 annually, plus any overtime pay, plus very good city benefits!
The problem in the Department of Streets and San (as we lifelong Chicago Dogs like to call it) has to do with laziness, and loafing!
Between May and September of this year, Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman kept a close eye on 77 garbage truck drivers, and 145 laborers, in 10 wards across the city. Hoffman's inspectors noted "systematic, pervasive" waste and fraud.
According to Hoffman's final report, the inspectors "did not see a single laborer doing a full day's work."
"The investigators found a remarkably consistent pattern throughout all wards" inspected, the report continued. "Although the crews were well paid to work 8 full hours each day, on average they only worked less than 6 hours a day."
Projecting these bad habits across the city adds up to as much as $20 Million in lost wages and benefits due to the garbage professionals' poor work habits.
If you've got nothing else to do, or if you're just a loafing dog today, read the full report here.
The inspection, suggested by years of neighborhood resident complaints of loafing garbage crews, found many garbage workers sleeping in their cars, hanging around the garbage yards, drinking beer, and taking long, leisurely lunches. One crew last July quit working at 10:55AM one morning, but didn't clock out until the scheduled 2:30PM quitting time.
One worker was found relieving himself in the middle of the street, in the middle of his garbage run.
Now, you dogs, I'm no Efficiency Expert. But, over the years, city workers all over, but especially those here working for the City of Chicago, have taken a bad rap for laziness. It hurts us dogs quite a bit to find these negative perceptions are actually true!
As you can imagine, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is furious! He wants the offending workers heads on a platter - or, at minimum, that they be fired. In these days of a tight city budget, with declining tax revenues due to a weakened economy here, now is no time for wasteful or lazy job performance.
The mayor announced earlier this month his plans to trim about 1,000 city payrollers to help balance the 2009 City of Chicago Budget. Starting with loafing garbage workers could save, in his opinion, nearly $20 Million!
Union officials, although not apologetic for the offending employees' behavior, blamed the problem on poor supervision, and claimed Mayor Daley went on a "witch hunt." They hope the Mayor will soften his stance, and offer warnings instead.
In any event, we dogs would expect some changes will be made in at old Streets and San . . . very soon!
Do you agree, Gracie? "Woof, woof!" (That means "yes, yes," in Pekingese.)
See Dan Mihalopoulos and Hal Dardick's story in today's Chicago Tribune for more.
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
(and GRACIE MOSS, helping with the Dirty Work today)
