Waste Management Strike - Are You Freakin' Kiddin' Me?

First, let me state, I don't oppose the Union. They have their time and place (God knows, I loved Norma Ray) but this one just pissed me off.

So the problem is that garbage truck drivers for Waste Management went on strike in the Pacific Northwest yesterday at 10:30 am (Great timing - my garbage gets picked up at 10:30am). I wanted to understand more so I read further. Here are a few of the reasons I found for the strike:

• The company refused to bargain, this is now the third attempt they've had in trying to bargain a fair contract
• Sanitation worker is the fifth most dangerous job
• Waste Management is on a public relations campaign to create labor disputes so that King County and the public perceive the union as being a difficult player.

After this strike is over and the union workers get what they want, drivers will be making close to $110,000 a year (salary +pension+health benefits).

I've been trying to figure out why I'm so mad over this whole deal and it comes down to these guys being so freakin' selfish.

First, it is a down economy. I was out of work for more than a year and would love to have been pulling in these kind of wages. I can't believe they are so ungrateful that they would really risk a strike. The sheer audacity makes me furious.

Second,  the union workers are affecting the general public. Not only is my garbage not being picked up but who in the hell do you think is going to pay for this pay raise they are going to get? I already pay too much for my garbage pick up as it is. And for what? I don't get special treatment, my cans are still all screwed up when I come home. I even found my can turned over in the street (can't officially blame this on WM drivers but I think he was mad when he didn't get a Christmas present).

Third, over a $100K a year for what? The truck does all the work. It is a rare occassion when I see the dude get out. Maybe when cans are too close together or there is extra garbage to throw in the bin. Maybe it's too hard to push a button and make the big arms lift the bucket into the back of the truck. Ohhh, while still sitting on my ass, I push another button and the garbage gets compacted. Ok, I drive to the dump and wait for it...I lift my pinky and hit another button to dump the garbage out. Seriously? Seriously? I am going to raise Tucker to be a Sanitation Engineer. He'd make a great living and wouldn't need to go to college.

I understand that they feel overworked and underpaid but they are not doing anyone any good by being selfish during this economic downturn. There are still thousands of people out of work and people losing their homes every day and they are concerned about making more. Give it up, guys. This just isn't right. Waste Management - fire them all and start over.

Let me know what you think.

Tales from the Tapletts

Jon Stewart and Goldman Sachs

If you guys are having a tough time understanding the whole Goldman Sachs story, you need to watch Jon Stewart. He really breaks it down for those of us who aren't as financially savvy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/20/jon-stewart-takes-on-gold_n_544102.html

New Million Dollar Idea

After dealing with a puky sick kid over the last couple of weeks, I've come up with the best invention. How about washing machines that have a few big holes to get rid of the chunks? Anyone? Doesn't that sound like a brilliant idea?

Who the Hell is Justin Gaston?

Just got done watching American Idol and am sitting here wondering who is Justin Gaston? I did a little research and saw he's better known as the Miley Cyrus' boyfriend. As I dug further, I discovered this guy is an underwear model, reality TV star and media hooker. Not only was his performance on American Idol horrible but he brought down Brooke White, one of my favorite past contestants.

I am having trouble understanding this generation. I saw recent articles on Heidi Montage's plastic surgery. She was a beautiful girl who went through ten plastic surgeries to completely alter her appearance to keep herself in the limelight. She is right there with the Kardashians, Hiltons and the entire cast of the Jersey Shore. How do these people get idolized in the first place? Most are famous for doing absolutely nothing.

How can our society idolize these people? There are so many great Americans our youth can look up to. And I'm not talking about sports people or movie stars but someone like these kids from Horsman, PA

Paying It Foward - - Very Special Children … Horsman, PA


Last February my daughter and I moved to a new home and I started a new job and in those first few weeks one of my colleague’s had a horrible thing happen to her sister and family….. their home burned down and they lost everything. Even though we did not know this family, my daughter Erica who was 8yrs old at the time, was having a birthday party coming up and asked all the guests to bring gifts and clothes for this family instead of for herself this year. I was truly amazed and very proud of my daughter. Never in my life did I imagine that same thing would happen to us exactly one year later. Two months ago our house burned down and we were devastated. A few weeks ago, we received a donation from three very special 8 year old boys from my daughter‘s school- Dillon, Joe and Brady who celebrate their birthdays the same week. They did not know about what my daughter had done, and they came up with the wonderful idea of raising money for us instead of themselves at their birthday party this year. I was so touched and overwhelmed by the generosity of these young children, who care so much about their friend and helping others. They are very special boys, and there are no words to express how thankful we are for what they have done. All of these children are very special and they are making the world a better place. They have shown the true meaning of “Pay it Forward”.

Come on, people! Get it together. Let's concentrate on providing our kids with role models who make a difference in this world.

Tales from the Tapletts

Douchebag Driver of the Day Award and Deeper Thoughts on Cheating

It rained yesterday on my communte and that, of course, caused the traffic to snarl up. The freeway backed up as we all waited to get onto I-5. While some of us were waiting patiently, I saw others darting into the carpool lane. Now this didn't bother because I've been there. I've used, and been caught using (go TixNix), the carpool lane.

Now what bothers me are the guys who waited until the last minute and jammed from the left lane into mine. Now that bothers me. The Douchebag Driver of the Day Award goes to the silver Corvette that cut in front of the nice, patient people who had been waiting in line for the last several minutes.

This one really upset me. I called JeffyT almost crying. I couldn't believe the gall this ass had. I thought "Wow, cheaters really do win in the end."

That got me thinking. Do cheaters really win? I see people getting ahead by cheating all the time and it really ticks me off. Look at the financial industry, the banks and brokerages who damned near bankrupted this country. Not a darn thing happened to them or the people who ran the companies. Most of them still saw over six figure incomes. Players who use steroids in professional baseball, college coaches who have others take exams for their star athletes, high school students who cheat on the SATs, scientists who fake the results of their research...nothing seems to happen to them.

I grew up with pretty strict values and knew right from wrong but things were different in the 70's. There wasn't the media proliferation or exposure you have now. How do I teach Tucker to do the right thing when so many out there don't play by the rules?

Being a parent holds a lot of responsibility. I thought the naming process was tough but the idea of trying to teach Tucker certain values, scares me. He is going to see that people cheat and win all the time. He will then regret what his mommy and daddy taught him and then cheat. He will get caught, get in trouble and then lament over why he's always the won who get the short end of the stick. Worse, he will cheat and not get caught and go onto a life of crime and serial killing. There is a delicate balance that I'm really scared of here.

Any thoughts?

Tales from the Tapletts

I Hate People Who Drive Like Douchebags - May Contain Offensive Language

Can you tell from the title that this morning was a rough commute? I always said that if I started blogging I would definitely use it to tell certain people off who couldn't drive. When available, I will post license plate numbers to warn others on the road that this person's driving sucks.

To start, I found this great definition of douchebag on Urban Dictionary.

Douchebag: Someone who has surpassed the levels of jerk and asshole, however not yet reached f***er or motherfu**er. Not to be confuzed with douche.

Use it in a sentence:

Rob: He kept hitting on my girlfriend at the party, he just wouldnt leave her alone!!
Sam: God, what a douchebag.

I now drive to Everett every day for work. That requires a roundtrip on Woodinville-Duvall road, I-405 and I-5.

This morning's offender was found on I-405. He or she was in a blue Honda Civic traveling north. Traffic was fairly heavy compared to other mornings. It started at the merge point, where 522 hits 405. Most people move into the left lane to let traffic on because they of the construction and short merge lane. This guy decided to stay in the right lane and bottled every thing up. I was further down in the queue so I watched from a distance. Not only did he slow down the merging traffic but also the people behind him.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my last encounter with this guy. I got stuck behind him and watched him drive 55 while everyone in front of him was going 60 and then speed up when a car tried to get around him. It was rather entertaining only because I wasn't directly involved...this time.

Rule of the road: Move over for merging traffic and drive the speed limit when on a freeway.

I wasn't able to get a plate number but this guy gets my Douchebag Driver of the Day award.