Garbage routes change as Westbury Village tries to reduce expenses

A reduction in garbage pickup routes by Westbury Village -- designed to save $105,000 annually -- has led to a longer workweek for sanitation employees, something their union leader is working to change.

The village eliminated one truck in September, resulting in longer routes, Mayor Peter Cavallaro said. Employees are working on average five extra hours each week -- for no additional pay -- but fewer than the 40-hour maximum requirement, he said.

"We thought this change was a fairly modest change given that they are working fewer than 40 hours a week," Cavallaro said.

The village eliminated two sanitation jobs by not filling vacancies when people retired, Cavallaro said. Instead of filling those jobs, the village added two positions to the highway department, he said.

John Shepherd, CSEA Local 882 president, said he will be meeting with Cavallaro to negotiate the changes. His Nassau municipal employees union represents the village sanitation workers.

"The main concern was the possible elimination of public employee union jobs and the possibility of contracting out," Shepherd said, adding that the union also has concerns about how well the public is served by changing the routes.

Cavallaro said the village has no plans to privatize its garbage route.

"It probably would cost us a little bit less to privatize, but our guys provide a better level of service," Cavallaro said. "Our guys have always done a good job, and I wouldn't want to change that."

Residents have called the village questioning pickup times that are as much as an hour and a half earlier or later than they had been, the mayor said, adding that it took a couple weeks for "the routes to settle down."

Pickup times depend on where the house is along the new routes, he said.

Cavallaro, who is also president of the Nassau County Village Officials Association, said municipalities should be trying to streamline governments and unions should be flexible.

"In this day and age, all municipal employee unions should be cognizant of the tax cap, and that there's an overwhelming demand by the residents to make cost effectiveness a reality," he said. "They should not be pushing back when there is an immaterial impact on members."

Thomas J. Lilly Jr., coordinator of the SUNY Old Westbury Industrial and Labor Relations program, noted pressure on state and local governments to reduce costs meant "typically when times are bad, people look to public sector employees and say 'they look like they have it pretty good.' "

However, he said, the village and union "have to live with each other pretty much forever; this is not a relationship you can walk away from. Cooler heads should be thinking about resolving not just this particular problem, but improving the relationship for years to come."

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.