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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesGarbage Collection Problems Could Be Sign of Labor Unrest

Garbage Collection Problems Could Be Sign of Labor Unrest

May 27, 2007 – Mounds of garbage overflowing from bins and into the street since Thursday were finally picked up on Honduras in Frenchtown Sunday afternoon a little after 3:30.
Residents have been calling the Waste Management Authority since Friday morning. Resident Ronald Olive said he had called several times on Friday and been told a truck was coming. When it didn't appear, he said he called again, but just got a recording.
A message from the Source was left for WMA Executive Director May Adams Cornwall Sunday morning. She returned the call later, leaving a voice mail message saying, "It is my understanding that someone didn't show up for work yesterday, but we are working on getting that bin collected." Further calls to Cornwall were not returned.
Peter Ryner, a WMA supervisor reached Sunday morning, said he did not like to speak to the press, but that a truck would be in Frenchtown soon.
Meantime, residents in the neighborhood have become increasingly concerned. A 95-year-old woman lives directly across the street from the overflowing bins, which are attracting flies and chickens. Her family is concerned for her, and for their own, health.
Two Dumpsters near the Joseph Aubain ball field are also overflowing with garbage extending into the street. Some residents indicated that the situation is not limited to Frenchtown and is an islandwide problem
Sources within government told the Source Sunday that there is a personnel and equipment problem on St. Thomas. They indicated there is a problem with garbage contractors.
The two WMA employees who picked up the garbage Sunday afternoon agreed. "We don't have the trucks," one worker said. "And we don't have the workers," said the truck driver, who frequently works by himself without a helper to load the bags. "When you write about this, ask them what happened to the $28 million," he said.
This was an apparent reference to the 2006 WMA budget, which was actually pegged at $32.4 million. At a Senate budget hearing last year, Cornwall explained that a lack of staff has forced the authority to outsource more than 50 percent–or $20 million worth–of its operational services.
While senators, at that time, said they were concerned that these jobs were not being performed in house, Cornwall said that more funding would allow WMA to train local residents to perform various tasks and could also provide a salary increase for workers who have received the proper training.
"When you do a dirty job, you want to get paid," she said at the time.
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