Garbage Men Not Working Hard

Is not a scandal.

City workers get paid millions of dollars a year — at least $14 million of your tax dollars, in this case — to do nothing.

Instead of working, they get a snack at McDonald’s or Subway, hit the Y or wash the car, and finish off the day having a few beers and relieving themselves in the alleys they’re supposed to clean — all on city time.

They break up their days by taking 90-minute lunch breaks, at home.

And at the heart of the problem are poor city supervision and years of clout hiring.

In case you missed the news, the city’s dogged inspector general, David Hoffman, released a report Wednesday revealing the results of an investigation of city garbage workers. Hoffman’s investigators did surveillance on 222 garbage workers across 10 wards, doing one ward a week. During that time, the inspector general did not find one garbage worker who put in a full eight-hour day.

scandal:  A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society: a drug scandal that forced the mayor’s resignation.

To cause a disgrace or offend moral sensibilities we would have to believe that this wasn’t standard operating practice.  No one is that naive.  Are they?

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