Thursday, June 22, 2006
Where’s the Leadership on the Garbage Strike?
Garbage workers in Pittsburgh are once again raising the specter of a walkout during the week of All Star game festivities in the City--a strike that would produce great embarrassment at a time when the nation is focused on Pittsburgh. How is it that civic and political leadership have not denounced this threat as unprofessional, unacceptable and destructive of the City’s best interests?
Instead, we get assurances that every effort will be made to get a contract settlement before the strike deadline. But what that means is that the City is having a figurative gun held to its head through this All Star week strike threat and is under enormous pressure to acquiesce to union demands.
City, County and civic leaders should let the citizens of the area and the nation know that this behavior is intolerable. First, anyone who walks off the job should lose his job. Second, if the garbage workers go out on strike, the City should have private contractors in place ready to pick up the garbage in critical areas to prevent the worst of the public relations nightmare from happening.
Doing less is irresponsible. Telling the garbage workers in advance that the garbage will be picked up during their strike should go a long way to dissuading them from walking out.
The City needs forceful leadership. This garbage strike threat provides the perfect time to exercise the strong leadership so desperately needed. Mayors must not allow themselves to be bullied.
Instead, we get assurances that every effort will be made to get a contract settlement before the strike deadline. But what that means is that the City is having a figurative gun held to its head through this All Star week strike threat and is under enormous pressure to acquiesce to union demands.
City, County and civic leaders should let the citizens of the area and the nation know that this behavior is intolerable. First, anyone who walks off the job should lose his job. Second, if the garbage workers go out on strike, the City should have private contractors in place ready to pick up the garbage in critical areas to prevent the worst of the public relations nightmare from happening.
Doing less is irresponsible. Telling the garbage workers in advance that the garbage will be picked up during their strike should go a long way to dissuading them from walking out.
The City needs forceful leadership. This garbage strike threat provides the perfect time to exercise the strong leadership so desperately needed. Mayors must not allow themselves to be bullied.
