But the Christian Workers Union, which represents many of the sanitation workers doesn't want to hear nay of the blame-gaming. Today, their president said the problem is not with any banking institution or credit union, it's with the council's weak cash flow - and it's a chronic problem:...
Dale Trujeque, President - CWU
"Apparently this is not the first time the pay was a little late in recent weeks. And so people become very agitated, the information the information gets out."
"There seems to be a claim that there was some mix up, something went awry. I have an issue with that. It cannot go awry with all the financial institutions. So, if it went awry, it probably went awry at the source, that is to release the money. That's how I view it."
"At the end of yesterday we are certain that our people who are paid through the banks got their pay sanitation workers were still waiting."
"But the fact is up to around midday people had not received their pay, let me be fair around 11:00 today they started receiving their pay which is the third of October."
"But I need to say this I don't know how many of my workers would have had to have gone to a loan shark. i don't know how many of my members would have been taxed a penalty for a late loan payment. And this happens you know? This happens."
"But, guess what? If the thing will be late. Don't blame anyone, if you know you are the cause of it being late, come and talk to the union, come and talk to the members."
"What I want to remind the council about is this: the law is very clear on pay. Pay must be paid when due. So, if it's due on the 30th, but you normally pay it on the 28th, okay then we know from now you all have up to the 30th to pay the money. But after that it is late and if it is late I want to tell them this, don't expect people to come work. That is not a strike, I just won't show up. And they need to understand."
"They are playing games with our people because they know our people need. What we understand is we understand when you coming down to the pay and you realize that you can't meet the payroll, you are sending out the collectors, the property tax people and I don't know who else. Everybody have to get out there to work the ground. But we are understanding you are collecting on 2018 already and what we are further concern about and we think this is public information. I don't think we are asking for classified information. We understand so that people can pre-pay taxes for next year - they are being offered 15% and 20% discount. But you actually will be waiving a lot of money because when you go out there to meet a payroll, wages probably formed the biggest part of the council's budget, so it's not a little bit of money you are going out there to ask for and it's not a little bit of money you are going out there to offer discounts on. It's not sustainable."
Trujeque says he has written to the city council asking for a meeting, but his email of a month ago went unanswered.
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