Felony

The Road To One Union

Kevin Rice – Dignity and Respect

Sanitation-men did not take any serious job actions immediately after the war and instead gave Mayor O’Dwyer the opportunity to deliver on some of his campaign rhetoric.

When the 1946-47 budget came down the line, the Joint Board of AFL Locals demanded a 35% wage increase, which would bring their wages close to $1.25 per hour.

They also wanted 10 cents an hour on night work, time and a half for overtime and double time for Sundays. But their pleas were ignored by O’Dwyer, who was a big fan of the Police Department.

In fact, the only time San-men seemed to get their fair share of publicity was when they stopped a robbery or pulled someone from a burning building or when it snowed.

Somethings never change!

Who are we…

  • 7,197 Uniformed Sanitation Workers and Supervisors
  • 2,048 Civilian Workers

59 Districts and about 5700 Vehicles

  • 2,230 collection trucks
  • 450 mechanical street sweepers
  • 275 specialized collection trucks
  • 365 salt/sand spreaders
  • 298 front end loaders, and
  • 2,360 various other support vehicles