2 ex-GFL employees say Priority Waste takeover has brought pay disparity, long hours

CLINTON TWP. (FOX 2) - "We love our jobs but this job has become purely hell," said one concerned worker. "We're supposed to be a team - but that is the furthest thing from the truth."

Calling themselves "Oscar the Grouch" these former GFL employees are now with Priority Waste, which took over hundreds of GFL garbage trucks on July 1 and 73 contracts.

Priority Waste took over the contracts with the promise of better service and top-notch technology - but some workers say - they’re not seeing it.

"We are out here working - we start at 6, and sometimes we make it off at 7:30 - that's the earliest," the worker said. "They have good trucks - they have the means of getting us help to clean up the communities, but yet still, they're not doing that. They're making us suffer with these GFL trucks."

It’s not just terrible trucks former GFL workers say they are saddled with, but long hours and a pay disparity as well.

"When GFL was bought out - we had to fill out applications to become Priority drivers, to become Priority employees," said a second concerned worker.

"So why are we getting paid - GFL pay?" asked the first employee. "We are not GFL workers - we are Priority workers."

Matt Allen is the spokesperson for Priority Waste - he says it’s only been three weeks and priority is committed to its new communities and new employees.

"All the employees that came over from GFL, when they were onboarded, were told that it was going to be 30 days to right-size the pay," Allen said. "Because of all the different departments and different scales. That takes us to Aug. 2, so we're in the third week of July. That will happen."

Allen says while that pay disparity will be taken care of in the next couple of weeks, and solved soon - the trucks are going to take a little longer.

"We understand that we're almost there," he said. "We've got 60 to 90 days to fix the rest of this fleet that is broken. It is like flying the airplane and fixing a broken wing at the same time."

Related: Priority Waste becomes largest private trash hauler in state, helped by high-tech

Allen says the fleet Priority was promised in the GFL deal was not what they got. Half of the garbage trucks aren’t even roadworthy. But he says, they’ve still been able to clear up garbage backlogs for thousands of customers - and better days are ahead for workers too.

"We've welcomed with open arms, we have brought on 600 employees," Allen said. "And some of them will leave on their own volition. We want to incorporate everyone and get them up to tune with our best practices when it comes to safety, and operations. And that is going to take some time too.

"We're very proud of the work that everyone has been doing here. We don't see it as an 'us and them.' We're all together as one team at Priority."