PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s garbage collectors are refusing to do trash pickup, claiming they are not being protected during the coronavirus outbreak.
Workers gathered Wednesday morning outside the Pittsburgh Bureau of Environmental Services building on Railroad Street in the Strip District.
We’re playing Russian roulette with every garbage bag that we’re grabbing,” employee Sheldon White said. “Half the people don’t tie their bags, so when the stuff spills out, they tell you to pick it up. There’s Kleenexes that people blow their nose and cough in.”
Workers said they want protective equipment and hazard pay.
The workers were sent home with pay Wednesday morning and were told to come back Thursday, when normal service is expected to resume.