When Austin’s garbage collectors tend to the green and blue bins lined up along the curbs of residences all across the city, they’re contributing meaningfully to the Austin Resource Recovery‘s Zero Waste by 2040 goal. The green and blue bins, which collect compost and recyclable materials, are key components of that long-term initiative, which aims to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 90% (a target still far in the future; at the end of 2021, the diversion rate was 42%).
But the meaningfulness of this work might sting a little for the garbage collector who happens to be operating an ARR truck without functioning air conditioning – a not-uncommon occurrence for the people responsible for collecting the city’s garbage, compost, recyclables, brush, and bulk items. If the bins are a visual reminder of the city’s commitment to Zero Waste, which is an important goal, they’re also a reminder that there is no similar commitment to the most important factor in keeping ARR truck operators safe during extreme heat – ensuring the reliable functionality of A/C units in collection trucks.
ARR operators are reluctant to speak publicly about the issue, as the Chronicle reported last year, because of a fear of retaliation that permeates the department. (“Complain too much and you’ll get the shit detail,” one employee told us at the time.) But the reliability of A/C units on collection trucks remains a pressing issue for ARR’s workforce. This past June was one of the hottest on record, with 15 triple-digit-degree days throughout the month, and one day when the heat index hit a record-breaking 118 degrees.
“In these heats, functioning A/C is a safety issue,” one operator, who worked on a variety of ARR collection trucks throughout the blistering June, told us. “We need a plan in place so no operator is working a truck that doesn’t have functioning A/C. How do we get there?” The answer to that question remains elusive, though the operators we interviewed said A/C reliability has improved over the issues field employees faced last year, when at one point, more than 1 in 5 ARR trucks did not have functioning A/C.
The improvement is likely related to a new type of A/C system ARR began investing in last year. One of the problems facing ARR is that keeping the mechanical parts of heavy-duty trucks functional during extreme heat – especially on vehicles that perform stop-and-go work like delivery and garbage collection – is a difficult task. The environmental factors and intended operation of the vehicles combine to virtually ensure that various parts will break down repeatedly.
To reduce the wear and tear on A/C units, ARR leadership purchased new cooling units that can be mounted to the tops of trucks (they also began ordering new trucks with a similar design). Moving the A/C system away from a truck’s hot engine, and away from the shocks that trucks endure when driving normal routes – especially along the miles of unpaved roads within landfills – should, in theory, make them more reliable. By December of last year, ARR had retrofitted 63 ARR vehicles with the new A/C systems; as of July 3, 117 vehicles were equipped with the new top-mounted A/C system.
“Routes often start late because a functioning truck is not available or they have to be delayed midroute because a truck breaks down,” explained one ARR operator. “That means we’re sometimes working during the hottest part of the day.”
It is difficult to say how the new systems are performing. ARR told us that in June 2023, 105 work orders were submitted to the city’s Fleet Mobility Services department for A/C repairs on collection vehicles (ARR’s full fleet hovers around 348 vehicles, 185 of which are collection vehicles). In early June, ARR told AFSCME Local 1624, the union that represents city workers, that 75 trucks were out for service, according to Krissy O’Brien, a political organizer with the union. Typically, ARR has about 35 trucks down for service on any given day (for any issue, not just A/C problems; July 11, the number was 65). With more trucks out for repair, ARR crews have fewer options to choose from when beginning a shift.
Sometimes when crews arrive for a shift, there are so few trucks to choose from that they have to take one that does not have functioning A/C, operators report. Other times, an A/C unit may give out midroute. When that happens, operators have to make a choice: Proceed without A/C or wait for a truck that does have A/C to become available. “Routes are often delayed midroute because a truck breaks down,” a different ARR operator told us. “That means we’re sometimes working during the hottest part of the day.” ARR starts collection routes at 5am so operators spend less time working during peak heat hours.
Delays sometimes cause another problem: They can draw the ire of supervisors who emphasize among their crews the importance of finishing routes as quickly as possible. (ARR disputes the notion that management at any level prioritizes route completion over employee safety.) In all of June, five ARR employees were injured on the job, but three of those injuries were due to heat-related illnesses. Before that, the last heat-related injury was recorded Aug. 31, 2022. For O’Brien, a top priority is figuring out how to increase the turnaround time for all vehicle repairs at Fleet Mobility Services. “We need to understand the staffing shortages at Fleet and incentivize more coverage for shifts needed to make these repairs,” O’Brien told us.
Protecting ARR employees – and those at Austin Energy and Public Works, and other city workers who are required to work outside during the state’s dangerously hot summers – is a top priority for Council Member Vanessa Fuentes. Fuentes, who championed the $20 per hour minimum wage for city employees in the fiscal year 2023 budget, said she hopes to address the A/C issue during the FY 24 budget cycle (the new budget will be adopted in August).
“I would like to see the City Manager’s Office bring us creative solutions for ensuring A/C systems remain operable during the summer,” Fuentes told us. That might include outsourcing repair of A/C systems, or purchasing of the parts, to third parties so that the work doesn’t all fall on Fleet Mobility Services, for example. “It’s imperative for us as local policymakers,” she said, “to consider as many ways as possible to ensure the safety of city workers.”
This article appears in July 14 • 2023.