Garbage collection is becoming increasingly difficult for cities across the United States.
Certain deep-blue cities in deep-blue states — San Francisco, for example — have reputations for trash-filled streets. However, the Omicron variant is prompting sanitation workers to remain at home amid an already-tight labor market.
The Associated Press reported:
Cities including Atlanta, Nashville and Louisville are so shorthanded they have temporarily stopped collecting things like recyclable bottles, cans, paper and plastic, yard waste or oversized junk to focus on the grosser, smellier stuff. The delays are more than an annoyance to residents, creating problems such as clogged storm drains and blocked sidewalks.
Indeed, the phenomenon is evident throughout the entire country, the Associated Press highlighted:
In Louisville, Kentucky, sanitation workers stopped picking up yard waste in early January until further notice. Residents can drop off branches and clippings at Christmas tree collection sites.
New York City, which boasts the largest municipal sanitation force in the world, had around 2,000 of its 7,000 workers out because of the latest round of the coronavirus, but the rest are working long hours to clear a backlog of waste. The city has not suspended any services.
In Philadelphia, sometimes called Filthadelphia because of the condition of its streets, around 10% to 15% of the 900-person sanitation workforce is out on any given day, leading to delays in waste collection, according to Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams.
Sanitation is far from the only industry impacted by the Omicron variant. Over the holiday season, airlines canceled thousands of flights as pilots and crew members reported symptoms. Some airlines even began doubling and tripling pay for those willing to cover extra trips.
However, worker shortages are quickly becoming a permanent fixture in the American economy. The Department of Labor’s most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which analyzed data from October, showed that there are 11 million job openings in the United States — exceeding the number of people actively searching for work by 3.6 million.
Business leaders are pointing to federal handout programs as one possible culprit. Goya Foods chief executive Bob Unanue, for instance, blasted the government for stepping in as a “competitor” to private companies by “incentivizing” people to quit their jobs.
“Last year with COVID, we were working and we were a capitalist society,” he explained during an interview with Fox Business. “When the government stepped in and started printing money and giving it out and telling people, you don’t need a reason to get up in the morning.”
“We are heading for hard times,” Unanue added. “We are dismantling this country. We’re getting soft. We have the government as our biggest competitor. Government needs to get out of the way and let us work.”
An analysis from Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee said that a large share of the young men who receive welfare from the government are “voluntarily disconnected” from work.
“Only 12 percent of inactive, prime-age, able-bodied men said they wanted a job or were open to work,” the report explained. “Among men who are inactive for reasons other than disability, retirement, education, or homemaking, 41 percent personally receive government assistance.”