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HAMTRAMCK—Frustrated by union tactics that left garbage pickup weeks behind, Mayor Gary Zych of Hamtramck has championed contracting out garbage collection. But he has been met by fierce opposition from the city employees' union and city council members.
The union claims privatizing is a violation of its contract, which, the mayor concedes, requires an agreement from the union. But with the sanitation employees refusing at one point to work new shifts and a string of injuries and time taken off by a number of employees, Zych says he may be dealing with a case of a union not acting in good faith. He even claimed the employees' refusal to work was tantamount to a wildcat strike.
Although workers finally agreed to new working hours, garbage collection still did not go smoothly. The town's two garbage trucks came up with problems that seemed to Zych like union delaying tactics and garbage collection was held up until they could be fixed.
At this point, Zych said if collection continues to fall behind, he would declare an emergency and call in a private company. But the garbage collection problem seems to be only one aspect of wider budget problems in Hamtramck-Zych recently asked the state about the possibility of his entire town going into state receivership.
