California clean-up causing union commotion

Roadside crews in California are up in arms over cleaning up an increasing amount of garbage – much of it unhealthy, some of it potentially lethal. US media are reporting that the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents California state's maintenance workers, filed a grievance accusing the state of subjecting its members to hazardous conditions without proper training or equipment.
May 9, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Roadside crews in California are up in arms over cleaning up an increasing amount of garbage – much of it unhealthy, some of it potentially lethal.


US media are reporting that the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents California state's maintenance workers, filed a grievance accusing the state of subjecting its members to hazardous conditions without proper training or equipment.

Workers also must face hostility from residents in encampments of homeless people whom they are having to move on and clean up after.

"Their job is to maintain the highways and freeways,” Steve Crouch, a director with the union, reportedly said. “That's filling the potholes, that's doing the striping of the lines, that's doing the guardrails alone the edge, that's trimming the trees and shrubs and bushes along the highway. Their job is not to clean up homeless encampments."

He said the union believes that the state is not issuing workers with essential personal protective equipment, giving them the necessary training, necessary vaccinations and proper compensation for the dangerous hazmat duties.

Crouch commented on the nature of hazardous material, including faeces, urine, feminine products, needles and syringes. Workers also face dangerous dogs owned by encampment residents.

2451 California Department of Transportation estimated the cost of cleaning up after homeless groups was around US$10 million in 2016-17 – a third more than the previous period. Maintenance crews encountered about 7,000 homeless camps on rights of way of the state's 254 highways, according to news reports.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Replace bridge for Vancouver’s Massey Tunnel could aid congestion
    December 21, 2015
    Opponents of a proposed 10-lane bridge near Vancouver, Canada, said the structure will encourage urban sprawl in a region that is already struggling with a booming population. The British Columbia provincial government recently opened the final round of public consultation for the planned 3.3km toll bridge likely to cost around US$2.54 billion.
    Read More
  • Campaign urges UK drivers to get eye tested every 2 years
    August 5, 2013
    A new campaign is calling on UK drivers to ‘sharpen up’ their act by getting their eyesight tested every two years to ensure their vision meets legal standards and they aren't putting people in danger. The campaign by road safety charity Brake, in association with the DVLA, insurer RSA and Specsavers, comes as new research shows many drivers are failing to ensure they can see properly on every journey. A survey of 1,000 UK drivers by Brake, RSA and Specsavers finds that a quarter of drivers (26%) haven't ha
    Read More
  • Safer highway and bridge construction in the US
    May 21, 2025
    New data from ARTBA reveals safer highway and bridge construction in the US.
    Read More
  • Island Roads is on the march along the UK’s Isle of Wight
    November 21, 2018
    Ringway Island Roads recently completed a major 12km upgrade to one of the UK’s most iconic roads. The upgrade to the Military Road, on the Isle of Wight in the English channel, is the largest carriageway improvement project delivered in a single scheme by Ringways’ Island Roads division. The project was part of the Isle of Wight’s Highway Improvement Programme which is financed in the main through a grant of €535 million awarded by the UK’s Department for Transport. The section between the villages
    Read More

Highlighted Content