Letter to the Editor Re: City considers big changes in trash pickup (The Times September 3)
September 04, 2009 at 2:15 AM
The following is a copy of President Mike Davidson's Letter to the Editor in response to the article published in The Times community paper September 3, 2009
September 4, 2009
Letter to the Editor:
Re: Article in The Times, September 3, 2009 “City considers big changes in trash collection”
As reported in the article, the City is considering changing trash pick-up services for 42,000 homes in Northwest Winnipeg from the current system to 240 litre bins on wheels.
Among the stated reasons being proposed is that it would cut down on petroleum fuel consumption and be easier for the staff. Interestingly enough, when the members of CUPE Local 500 made the same suggestions over ten years ago, they did not get any consideration.
What is known is that private delivery of public services has a history of increasing costs and decreasing services, and this is just a case in point. We are no longer in the business so accurate price comparisons are not readily available, and one must question whether this has more to do with the trucks that were sold to various vendors by the City at very low cost starting to wear out.
CUPE Local 500 and its members have a history of providing viable public sector options for cost effective service provision to decision makers of the City. Unfortunately, these suggestions are rarely considered and costly private sector alternatives are usually pursued. As the saying goes “if we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.” Let’s hope that the City explores the option of getting back into the garbage collection business instead of what is before it now.
Mike Davidson
President,
CUPE Local 500
