RE: [greenyes] Minneapolis processing contract

["Susan Hubbard" <susanh@no.address>]

Eric,
Just weeding through the many emails we received about the Minneapolis
contract. I know you sent this very long ago but with a little time
available now, I am trying to respond to all of the questions that we
received. I hope that this information is still useful to you. I wanted to
address your question regarding pay rates and the impact on the contract
selection. 

Your Question... you say that your proposal included "fair pay and
benefits" but that "Some decision makers felt these
qualities made Eureka Recycling more risky than our competitors..."    Could
you share with us the details on this?  Were your wages and benefits a lot
higher than BFI and Waste Management?  If so, how much higher?  For those of
us in the trenches, these sorts of details are critical to our future.


At Eureka Recycling we hire fulltime permanent employees that are eligible
for full benefits, holidays and paid time off. We understand industry
practices (at least in this area) are to hire workers through temp agencies,
this in effect hires that person at much lower wages since they are not
eligible for any benefits. We have and will continue to use temporary
employees when we have shifting labor requirements but we will never use
temporary labor as a way of evading paying our employees a fair wage and
providing them with beneifts.

The city of Minneapolis' contract required contractors to provide employees
payment of a living wage but (to the best of our knowledge) had no mechanism
to verify that the contractor actually provided this requirement. Living
Wage is $9.50 hour for a family of four. All of our employees are paid in
excess of this amount.

We are satisfied that the process we went through (although frankly quite
brutal) did provide some benefit. BFI, who had the contract before and was
awarded the new contract will be paying the city of Minneapolis a fair share
of the revenues generated (many times more than what they had been paying
previously) which we think will result in greater sustainability of
recycling.

Thank you for all your support,

Sincerely,

Susan Hubbard
CEO
Eureka Recycling
2828 Kennedy St., NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
 
651.222.7678
612.623.3277 Fax
 
www.eurekarecycling.org
 
Waste Is Preventable Not Inevitable

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Lombardi [mailto:eric@no.address] 
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 9:51 AM
To: Dianna Kennedy; greenyes@no.address
Subject: Re: [greenyes] Minneapolis processing contract

Dianna,

I am so sorry about this outcome.  Over the next 36 months, show them how
damn good Eureka is and then go get this contract!  The community deserves
to have you steering the ship.

Question... you say below that your proposal included "fair pay and
benefits" but that "Some decision makers felt these
qualities made Eureka Recycling more risky than our competitors..."    Could
you share with us the details on this?  Were your wages and benefits a lot
higher than BFI and Waste Management?  If so, how much higher?  For those of
us in the trenches, these sorts of details are critical to our future.

Thanks, and keep up the great work!

Eric at Eco-Cycle

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dianna Kennedy" <diannak@no.address>
To: <greenyes@no.address>
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 8:14 AM
Subject: [greenyes] Minneapolis processing contract


>
> For those of you tracking the RFP for the contract in Minneapolis to
> process recycling, this is the letter Eureka Recycling issued to the
> community last week following the council decision. The debate was
> lengthy--nearly 3 hours, and followed several months of discussion in
> two separate council committees. There is more information about the
> process on our website at www.eureakrecycling.org. Feel free to contact
> us and thanks for your support.
>
> April 6, 2004
>
> Dear Minneapolis Recyclers:
>
> The Minneapolis City Council voted last Friday to negotiate with BFI for
> the Minneapolis contract to process the recycling that is picked up by
> the hauling consortium, MRI, and city collectors in your neighborhood.
> Although we are disappointed that Eureka Recycling was not selected, we
> are writing today to call your attention to the benefits that this
> process did bring about.
>
> Most importantly, we are awed by the community support for our
> organization and your knowledge and commitment to recycling. And, we are
> impressed and energized by the amount of awareness this process raised
> concerning the economic, social and environmental benefits of recycling.
> There should be no doubt that Minneapolis recyclers care deeply about
> their program and wish to see the city make decisions that reflect their
> values. The sting of the final vote was lessened by the heartfelt
> comments of several council members regarding our organization. We
> extend sincere gratitude to Council Members Paul Zerby, Gary Schiff,
> Paul Ostrow, Dean Zimmermann, Dan Niziolek and all of you for being
> champions for sustainable recycling through your support of our
> proposal.
>
> Eureka Recycling is proud to have introduced competition into the
> marketplace, inspiring both BFI and WMI to offer better proposals than
> they originally put forward to Minneapolis. This competition has put the
> City of Minneapolis in an excellent position to negotiate for more money
> from the sale of materials than ever before. In acknowledgement of this
> success, Council President Paul Ostrow and other council members have
> stated their commitment to ensure that competition be fostered in the
> future by limiting this contract to three years without extension.
>
> Additionally, the extensive discussion of this contract has focused
> attention on key factors that make any initiative sustainable, including
> fair pay and benefits to a diverse workforce from a "locally-owned"
> company that invests in the community. Some decision makers felt these
> qualities made Eureka Recycling more risky than our competitors, but we
> believe that this risk is the only risk worth taking: one that attempts
> to add something of value to that community and aims to enhance that
> which is worthwhile.
>
> Although this process has come to a close, Eureka Recycling's role in
> Minneapolis' recycling program has not. For nearly two decades our
> organization has advocated for recycling and demonstrated the best
> practices for making programs cost-effective and environmentally sound.
> Our collection and processing services are provided in the city of Saint
> Paul, but our concern for effective recycling has never stopped at that
> border. Now, with our recycling facility in Minneapolis, we are even
> more committed to efficient collections and processing in our new home
> town. We are dedicated to ensuring sustainable recycling for you and the
> thousands of Minneapolis residents who followed this issue and voiced
> their opinion.
>
> We look forward to working with you in the future. Hope to see you at
> the Living Green Expo, May 1 and 2!
>
> Resourcefully yours,
> Eureka Recycling
>
> Posted by Dianna Kennedy
> Director of Communications
> Eureka Recycling
> 2828 Kennedy Street NE
> Minneapolis, MN  55413
>
> (651) 222-7678
> New FAX: (612) 623-3277
> diannak@no.address
>
> Waste is preventable, not inevitable. To learn more visit
> www.eurekarecycling.org
>
>
>
>
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