Drivers, union claim Silver State trucks often aren't fixed

Some Silver State Disposal drivers and union officials say garbage trucks are written up for repairs but often not fixed, including the truck that plunged 300 feet at Mount Charleston last month killing a driver and co-worker.

"I've been talking to guys and they say, 'Yeah, I got problems with my brakes, but they don't get fixed,' " Bernard Williams, Teamsters Local 631 union representative, said. "One guy said he's been complaining about that truck (in the accident) for a couple months."

One driver said he came back from his route, wrote up a repair for his truck, but before it was fixed was sent out on the road with another driver.

"That ain't nothing new," said the driver, who refused to give his name, saying he was fearful of retaliation from the company. "Everybody who works here knows about it."

Silver State spokeswoman Lee Haney said the company would not comment on the drivers' allegations other than to say there is routine maintenance done on the trucks and problems are fixed. She did say, "Employees are directed not to talk to the media on Silver State's behalf," but added that fearing retaliation was a bit much.

Haney said in August 1997 Silver State spent $18.7 million to buy new trucks, making 46 percent of their fleet of about 300 trucks less than three years old.

"We pride ourselves on maintaining and upgrading our fleet," Haney said.

Nevada Highway Patrol officials said Thursday they have ordered a safety compliance review of Silver State's records because of the Dec. 20 accident on State Route 158 where Larry D. Mitchell, 42, the driver, and co-worker Ilie Jones, 47, died.

Haney said the company has asked the highway patrol to conduct a compliance review.

But highway patrol officials said that was an empty gesture.

"If there is an incident that mandates that we initiate a review on a company, it's going to happen if a company says they asked for it or not," Trooper Scott Beringer, highway patrol spokesman, said. "They knew it was coming, so asking for the review is meaningless."

In fact, troopers wouldn't do a review simply because a company asked for one. A review can be conducted when there is a fatal accident, written complaints with substantial information, enforcement follow-ups to prior unsatisfactory reviews or based on a few other justifications.

Troopers will review the company's records on drivers, inspections, repairs, maintenance and other areas. A company could potentially face stiff fines -- in the tens of thousands of dollars -- if violations are found in the records, Beringer said. No date has been set for the review of Silver State records.

The highway patrol has not completed the accident investigation into the Dec. 20 crash and has not officially released what caused the truck to go through a guardrail and down the embankment.

Officials, however, have said there were no skid marks on the roadway, indicating a mechanical failure or the driver didn't apply the breaks.

But Local 631 vice president Derek Cardwell said there was no way Mitchell didn't hit the brakes.

"They weren't race car driving type of guys. It had to be mechanical failure," said Cardwell, whose union represents about 1,000 Silver State workers. "Those guys are not the type to doze off or run off the damn cliff. They drove that route for two years. They knew that road."

Drivers are required to inspect their trucks before driving off and fill out a check list. If they find something wrong with a truck, they should not leave in the truck until the problem is fixed, Beringer said.

But even he said drivers from various companies have told him that sometimes that just not the way it works.

"I've heard different drivers say, 'I'll get fired if I say I won't drive (a truck needing repairs)' or they said, 'There's 100 guys waiting to take my job,' " Beringer said.

Cardwell, who drove for Silver State for 18 years, said drivers who say they don't want to get into a truck because there is a mechanical problem are not told they have to, but there is an implied pressure.

"They say, 'You have the right to (not drive the truck), well then, you don't have to work. I'll get someone else to get that route,"' Cardwell said.

Union officials say the problem is linked to the reduction in the number of workers in the maintenance shop. They say about six months ago the staff was slashed.

Haney said there are fewer mechanics, but she said fewer are needed as the company replaced many of their trucks in August 1997.

Another driver who wouldn't give his name says he's written a truck up for a leaking gas hose every day for a week, but it was never fixed.

Troopers put 11 Silver State trucks out of service in the past two years after the vehicles failed roadside inspections, including five times for brake problems, according to highway patrol inspections reports.

archive