Democrat File Photo The imminent closing of the Sullivan County Landfill, seen looming over the defunct Apollo Plaza, will lead to layoffs in the county’s public works department.

County DPW
jobs saved

By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — More than two dozen Sullivan County Division of Public Works (DPW) employees were set to lose their jobs come January, when the county landfill will permanently close.
Thanks to an eleventh-hour agreement worked out between the county and Laborers Local 17 – the workers’ union – as many as 21 may stay employed.
Though the agreement must be ratified today by the County Legislature and the membership of Local 17, it stipulates that 15 of the 27 slated to be laid off will remain employees of the DPW’s Department of Solid Waste, listed as solid waste operators.
Up to six more will be employed by IESI, which won a contract with the county this month to begin exporting trash. Those workers will be employed at the Ferndale Transfer Station and the new Materials Recovery Facility to be constructed next to the landfill in Monticello.
“This is a great example of how the county can work with our local union representatives, think creatively and save county jobs,” said Legislature Chairman Jonathan F. Rouis.
Todd Diorio, Local 17’s representative, wasn’t as circumspect.
“When labor and management meet and take the time to discuss the issues, usually things can be resolved responsibly and financially,” he remarked. “The shoot-from-the-hip, gun-to-the-head approach no longer works in Sullivan County. Things need to be more thought out. Moving forward in 2010, labor and management need to meet more often for the betterment of the county.”