With the City of Phoenix struggling to pick up bulk trash due to staffing issues, officials are offering more money for certain workers. Starting Nov. 26, any City of Phoenix employee who has a commercial driver’s license and is a commercial driver will receive an additional $3 per hour. That’s on top of a hiring incentive of $2,500 for new solid waste equipment operators and $3,000 for current SWEOs.
Officials also note that it offers a solid waste equipment operator apprenticeship program, which they say is the first of its kind. Using on-the-job training and instruction, workers can learn to obtain their CDL license and use those skills to further their careers. They say most of these delays are caused by the mainly nationwide shortage of CDL operators.
A hiring shortage, the city says, is causing major delays in parts of the city. Now officials hope that additional pay in conjunction with hiring and recruitment bonuses helps put the issues to rest. “I proudly support the long overdue hiring and retention incentives for the City’s Public Works employees,” said City Councilmember Carlos Garcia. “By taking care of our City workers, we can also do right by our residents.”