More than 110 waste management workers in Virginia Beach, Virginia, protested Aug. 19 after learning they would not be receiving hazard pay via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to WFXR, the workers say they weren’t included on the city’s list of funding.
“Trash is what we do, it is not what we are. We are essential workers. We are on the front lines every day. We have been there since the virus started and even before that,” sanitation worker Alfred McClenny said.
The federal funding for hazard pay is supposed to be for workers who are consistently working in-person in areas that increase their risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
Virginia Beach is using $4.5 million of the more than $78.6 million it’s slated to receive in CARES funding mostly for public safety employees, which will receive between $1,000 and $2,000 in hazard pay depending on rank. Eligible employees in health and human services will be given $1,500.
City officials say the majority of its workforce didn’t qualify, though some, including waste management employees, were classified separately as “emergency responders.” That classification made them ineligible for the CARES funding, city officials say.
However, other cities, including Portsmouth and Hampton, have allocated CARES funding for waste management employees. The City of Hampton responded to a request from 10 On Your Side Wednesday and said solid waste operators are frequently exposed to and required to handle waste materials that could contain coronavirus — which is why they’re included in hazard pay.
WFXR reports various localities have each interpreted how to use the CARES Act funds differently.
New Virginia Beach City Manager Patrick Duhaney, who came by to speak with the workers on Wednesday morning, sent a letter to City Council on Aug. 18, asking for hazard pay for waste management and other “critical workers,” but through another source — savings from a recent hiring freeze.
Under the plan, “emergency responders” would receive $1,000 and all other city employees who meet the criteria will receive $250. The city says 3,532 people will qualify for the one-time payment, which is expected to cost $1,887,105. The CARES funding was allocated to 2,273 employees.
Duhaney requested that the proposal be considered at the council’s Sept. 1 meeting.
Latest from Waste Today
- Struggling with excess wood debris?
- More of what the world needs, less of what it doesn’t
- Gaeta Recycling: Driving efficiency and sustainability with SENNEBOGEN material handlers
- Enhance mobility using Sebright Products Portable Compactor Solutions
- Drive operational efficiency with Sebright Products Oil Filter Recycler
- Keep your drivers on the road with Sebright Products Container Dogs
- Casella Waste Systems acquires William Gerber Inc.
- California wildfire debris cleanup on track to be completed by mid-summer
