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This is my fear of a union. I wouldn't want that as an operator, and I definitely don't want that as a manager. Typically when a union gets a foot in the door down here, that's where it starts. A disgruntled employee. That's why I run my landfill the way I do. My men respect me, and I respect them. I was an operator once, too, and I treat them the way I would want to be treated. I take ownership of my operation, and my men take ownership of their jobs. We don't want an outside group to be the mediator. I would imagine the operators there are the same way. If they are like a typical landfill, they have all been working there for years. I see much less turnover in the waste industry than I did in construction. Most operators I know at my landfill and others have been there 10+ years. Chances are the operators were there before the current owners were. That's why I don't understand the silence...

From the very beginning many of us have feared that it will all be settled with a fine and everything would be swept under a rug. I know that the employees are afraid of losing their jobs, no union-no protection, PA is an at will state. And these folks have families and aren't earning a lot of money as it is. The whole mess is just so sad because a life was lost, and it could have been many more.

I've worked in both union and non-union businesses and in union and non-union positions within them, and have had safety committees in every one of them. I can't say a union environment today is universally better for employees with all of the laws and agencies involved and available to protect workers. What I do see is people who fear for their jobs find comfort in expecting union protection to keep their jobs. The other side of that is I see unions protecting employees who should not be working at the expense of better workers. It's a two way street and I personally was better served working in a non-union position, where others may not have been.

I can see where the safety aspect of the union could be beneficial, especially if the company, or certain employees of the company, were committing unsafe acts, but a safety committee couldn't have prevented that collapse. I have a safety committee at my landfill, and we aren't union. You wouldn't believe the safety and HR training that I am required to attend every year. That's an operations issue, and ultimately the operations of a landfill are the call of the manager. If the operators were told to do something that was unsafe, and they knew it was unsafe, then maybe a committee would have helped. If the operators didn't know, nothing would have changed. It's not the responsibility of the operators to safely construct a landfill, that's not what they are paid to do. There are operations plans, fill sequences, that are designed by engineers that have to be followed. The engineers don't communicate with the employees, that's what I am paid to do

It could well be that a union would have protected the employees if they walked off, but highly doubtful that a union could have prevented that collapse. Does a union have any control over work practices? I don't know, I'm just not experienced with them. I know that people knew it was moving, but I don't know how scared they were. There was video, even after the collapse, of an operator riding a loader around the rim of the crater when someone called him down. I can't imagine that anyone actually thought the entire cell would collapse. Maybe they weren't scared, I just don't know. Even without a union, there are anti-retaliation laws to protect employees. I would assume there is an HR department where employees can voice concerns anonymously. Our HR hotline number is posted beside the time clock. Unions are not big in the south, not because we run them out, but because as employers we try to provide a workplace where employees don't feel like they need them. OSHA has a whistleblower section on their website where you can voice concerns anonymously. It's not like these companies have total control over employees and can do anything they want, there are laws to protect them.

I understand what yet saying but there's not many managers around that would go to bat for their employees. To me the biggest reason for union is unsafe work places. Around here good paying jobs are few and far between. So just leaving isn't much of an option when yer feeding a family.

Let me put it this way, I'm the manager. If they feel unsafe, and I tell them to continue working, it's my fault if something happens...

I plead with the employees to make a stand over this. I know some of you guys are reading this thread, and the opportunity is slipping away. I'm just some guy on the internet, what I say goes only so far, and I can't say too much for fear of my job. You guys were there, you know what happened. This is not right. Decisions were made that led directly to that disaster, and even if Mr. Pierce's family gets a settlement for millions of dollars, where does that leave the rest of us? This isn't a local issue, this is a nationwide issue, and you guys are in the spotlight for a brief time. You guys could make some noise that would affect change for all of the rest of us. I understand why you don't speak up, I have mouths to feed, too, but what are you defending? Just Google "landfill slide". It's just a matter of time...