Union Seeks Clergy to Join Fight for Justice

April 18, 2008

April has been a busy month for the Teamsters’ fight for justice on behalf of waste workers, including an event in Memphis on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a Senate subcommittee hearing and the announcement of a national clergy committee prepared to stand with the sanitation workers. 

On April 1, the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety heard testimony from unions in the Change to Win partnership on the need for greater oversight by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of companies with a history of serious, ongoing safety violations—including waste hauling giant Waste Management, Inc. (WMI).

The hearing followed the release of “In Harm’s Way," which depicts WMI’s pattern of life-threatening safety violations.

Two days later, on April 3, on the eve of King’s assassination, Teamsters and religious leaders from across the country stood with waste workers from 1968 and 2008 to demand WMI and other sanitation companies make immediate and substantive improvements in worker safety.

The Teamsters and religious leaders announced at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Memphis the formation of the National Committee for Sanitation Worker Justice (NCSWJ). The coalition was formed by Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) in response to the findings of "In Harm’s Way,” following the death of Waste Management, Inc. mechanic Raul Figueroa. 

“Raul Figueroa’s death is a reminder of the real hazards many Waste Management workers face every day,” said Bob Morales, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste, Recycling and Related Industries Division. “We look forward to continuing the fight to make conditions safer for Waste Management workers.”

The national committee is made up of clergy from across the country who will monitor safety conditions and work on organizing rights for sanitation workers.

Local unions interested in participating should call International Union organizer Walt Westfield at (202) 437-5723.

“Forty years ago Dr. King joined with the maligned and abused sanitation workers of Memphis to insist on human dignity and economic justice,” said Rev. Nelson Johnson, Director of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, Co-President of the Board of IWJ and Co-Chair of the NCSWJ. “The 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination ought to serve as a clarion call to faith leaders and people of good will all over the nation to join together to complete the unfinished work for which Dr. King courageously gave his life.”

On March 25, the family of deceased WMI mechanic Raul Figueroa from West Palm Beach, Florida, joined safety advocates, concerned local politicians and the Teamsters for the release of “In Harm’s Way” that found serious safety problems at the solid waste giant at Local 769 in North Miami, Florida.

Figueroa was the victim of a gruesome accident on January 3, 2008 at the North Broward Waste Management facility when a hydraulic arm on the truck malfunctioned, pinning him against the cab and severing his body in half. His family hopes to enact real change at WMI by partnering with the Teamsters Union and other concerned advocates and prevent Figueroa's fate from befalling other workers in the sanitation industry.

“We hope that through our joint and continuous efforts with the Teamsters we can finally bring about regulations in this industry,” said Alina Miranda, widow of Raul Figueroa. “We hope that Waste Management finally realizes that their employees are not just numbers, but human beings and as such they pay attention to their basic needs, needs such as parts, tools or safety equipment that could be the difference between life and death.”