Waste Management Authority workers on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John have voted to authorize a strike in response to stalled negotiations and unsatisfactory contract proposals that have persisted since the last contract expired in 2019 with no raises and no back pay, a union spokesman said Wednesday.
The workers are members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and number about 87, according to a press release from the union that included a video featuring senators voicing their support for the action.
IAM local communications representative Elias Flamenco Rivera said Wednesday afternoon that the current offer from the WMA is around 5.2 percent, except for the law enforcement officers it represents, which are a little higher. “However, it falls short as much as it doesn’t come close to making up for the six years of no wage raises, in spite of the continuous rise in the cost of living,” he said.
The last virtual negotiation was in April, when the Office of Collective Bargaining “gave us their best, last and final offer,” said Flamenco Rivera.
“After careful consideration and with a unified voice, our members have decided that the offer on the table from V.I. Waste Management Authority is not acceptable,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Craig Martin. “We stand together in seeking a fair resolution that adequately rewards the hard work and dedication of our members, who are instrumental in maintaining the cleanliness and health standards of the islands.”
Martin said the members will “receive wholehearted support from the IAM and our labor allies on the islands, all of whom are prepared to mobilize if a contract fails to address our members’ priorities.”
“The concerns of IAM members revolve around the offer from V.I. Waste Management Authority, which falls short of addressing the critical issue of wage increases across the board,” said IAM Southern Territory Special Representative John Vigueras. “Workers’ welfare is not just a perk; it’s a necessity for operational success, and it’s high time the government and management recognize that fact,” he added.
“Our members should not have to take on second or third jobs to support their families. They are the ones keeping paradise clean, and they deserve fair wages and their overdue contract,” said Vigueras.
The decision on a potential strike date will be made by the membership, according to the release. Under the V.I. Code, they are required to provide 72-hours’ notice of such a job action.
According to Wednesday’s release, over the years the IAM has urged the U.S. Virgin Islands government to prioritize workers and bargain in good faith. The union’s advocacy efforts have brought the issue to the attention of all USVI senators, with the majority expressing support for IAM members in achieving a contract that ensures fair wages, benefits and work rules, it said.
The notice comes after a rumored “sick out” on June 25 on St. Croix, when Waste Management issued a press release that there would be a delay in house-to-house garbage collections in some neighborhoods. It was seemingly resolved the next day, when Executive Director Roger Merritt testified before the Senate Finance Committee regarding the authority’s 2025 budget. Questioned about the alleged job action, he downplayed the matter, saying the number of absent workers was less than five percent of the authority’s 180 employees.
The Source called and emailed Waste Management for comment on the latest development but did not receive a reply on Wednesday, Emancipation Day, a territorial holiday when most government workers are off. Likewise for Thursday, Independence Day.
The Waste Management Authority is a semi-autonomous agency, governed by a seven-member board, that was meant to be self-funded when it was established in 2004. However, it has struggled to do so from the start, in part because it costs more to operate than it collects in fees.
Besides solid waste collection, VIWMA is also responsible for the territory’s wastewater management and landfills, which have operated under federal consent decrees since 1985 and 2010 respectively, with the landfills overdue to be closed.
Additionally, VIWMA is still working to pay $15 million to local vendors who aided in the cleanup from the hurricanes of 2017, according to Merritt’s testimony last week before the Senate Finance Committee.
According to its $44.5 million 2025 budget request, VIWMA is proposing to receive some $32.6 million from the General Fund; $5 million from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund; $1million from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund; $3.8 million from Utility Services; $1 million from the St. John Capital Improvement Fund; and $1 million from the Sewer Wastewater Fund.
At the hearing, Merritt proposed implementing a $5 or $10 tax on cruise arrival fees and the Hotel Occupancy Tax to help counter visitors’ impact on the territory’s landfills.
“We’re a tourism-based economy, but if they’re putting 70 percent of the volume into the landfill, and there’s not a benefit for us, at least there needs to be a fee to help us manage that trash,” Merritt said.
