NY Commercial Trash Workers Testify Against Conditions

Capital New York

During a City Council debate Wednesday over free enterprise and recycling diversion rates in New York's private carting industry, members of the sanitation committee heard from a group of stakeholders who rarely voice concerns about the industry publicly: workers in the private trash trade.

"When you only earn minimum wage and are working 60 hours a week in the bitter cold snow and ice—I feel like I am being taken advantage of," said Carlton Darden, who works for the private hauler Five Star Carting, in testimony to the Council.

"I feel as if I'm a slave," testified Michael Bush, another Five Star employee. "I feel used and degraded. I feel as if I'm nobody, but this job is a real responsibility to keep the streets of New York City clean."

Continue reading at Capital New York