Would you call this a holiday?

[Timsup2nothin]

So I've been thinking about trash collectors. Trash collectors have long been favorites of mine, since pointing out the fact that their job is far more dangerous than a law enforcement job, and you never hear about them randomly shooting people over it, makes for such entertaining conversations. But what has me thinking about them right now is that they are picking up the trash today...Saturday.

This is because Monday was a holiday, so everyone's trash pickup was delayed a day. Our normal Friday pickup, therefore, slides into the weekend. So these guys, every time there is a 'holiday weekend,' the following weekend they have to work Saturday to catch it up.

Does a three day weekend count as a 'holiday' if the next weekend gets cut to a single day off? Is this something you would call a good deal? Or would you rather just have regular two day weekends and forget about the holiday altogether?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Our trash is picked up by a truck with an automatic lift and dump. There is only a driver in the truck. Drivers only work M-F and after holidays they get to do double duty to get caught up. It seems to work well.

 

[dusters]

3 days in a row mean you can change your plans around more flexibly imho.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Our trash is picked up by a truck with an automatic lift and dump. There is only a driver in the truck. Drivers only work M-F and after holidays they get to do double duty to get caught up. It seems to work well.

I think pretty much everywhere has progressed to the lift truck stage so it's just one guy per truck. But by "double duty" do you mean they have some way to catch up through the week rather than working Saturday?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

3 days in a row mean you can change your plans around more flexibly imho.

Well, yeah...but a single day off does not a weekend make. The question is, is it worth the trade?

 

[Birdjaguar]

I think pretty much everywhere has progressed to the lift truck stage so it's just one guy per truck. But by "double duty" do you mean they have some way to catch up through the week rather than working Saturday?

Yes, they either put more trucks on the road, work faster or do both I'm thinking. Our pick up is on Tuesdays so rarely a holiday. When a Monday is, we still put ours out on Tuesday. And as if by magic, it goes away....I still have to bring the container back from the street though. I'm waiting for a fusion devise so I can put what little trash we have into it and run my car or house off of it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Yes, they either put more trucks on the road, work faster or do both I'm thinking. Our pick up is on Tuesdays so rarely a holiday. When a Monday is, we still put ours out on Tuesday. And as if by magic, it goes away....I still have to bring the container back from the street though. I'm waiting for a fusion devise so I can put what little trash we have into it and run my car or house off of it.

Wow. In all the places I have lived I have never seen that. I figured that they ran pretty close to capacity on any given day so there was no "extra trucks" or whatever to allow them to catch up.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Wow. In all the places I have lived I have never seen that. I figured that they ran pretty close to capacity on any given day so there was no "extra trucks" or whatever to allow them to catch up.

Like I said, the trash disappears like magic on Tuesday. I always thought it was just white privilege, but we're mostly Hispanic here, so it must be just magic.

 

[dusters]

I think it is. 3 days in a row is more freedom, as I said. I still have 1 free day next week.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I think it is. 3 days in a row is more freedom, as I said. I still have 1 free day next week.

Fair enough then.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Garbage is picked up several times a day here (at least twice, more often over holidays like Christmas). It's a building of 120 suites, so they have to pick up more often.

I wish we had a blue box for recycling, but that's not a thing here. They have a green dumpster for paper and cardboard, but some people just throw their stuff anywhere.

As for 3-day weekends constituting a holiday... I always considered it one, if that's all that was available. A 3-day weekend was enough for me to take off for Calgary on Friday afternoon for a science fiction convention and, depending on plans for Monday, I might return either on Sunday or Monday. It wasn't quite a holiday for the July convention since it was July, but definitely felt like a holiday on Thanksgiving weekend.

One year in college, I decided to take the early Greyhound to Calgary, to get settled into the room before the others in my group arrived later. Since I had a physical geography lab assignment to turn in by noon (I was in college that year), I decided to catch the first afternoon bus and I'd go directly from the college to the bus depot.

I would need to skip the regular class that afternoon, though, so I was hoping I could just sneak in, slip the assignment under the instructor's door, and be gone again...

But no such luck. He caught me, took a bemused look at the suitcase I was carrying, and said, "You're carrying a little more than usual today." (I normally carried my books and binders in a couple of shopping bags)

So I 'fessed up. I told him I was spending the weekend in Calgary and had a bus to catch. He assumed I was going to visit family for Thanksgiving, and told me it was okay to miss class and have a good time (my worst grade in his class was a B so it's not like he was worried that I would fall behind). I never told him it was for a science fiction convention. I think he might have understood, though. He was one of the best instructors I ever had in college.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Nah that's not a holiday, that's just screwing up your schedule. Similarly, whenever I'm asked to work a holiday or weekend and am told they are offering an 'incentive' of an equal amount of time off to make up for it down the road, I point out that it's not really an incentive to give back the time they owe me. An incentive would apply a multiple to the time you worked through a holiday or weekend in my opinion.

I think pretty much everywhere has progressed to the lift truck stage so it's just one guy per truck.

They still had 3-person crews in rural MO/IL.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Two person crew here, driver gets out to help if big load.

I'd kinda consider it a holiday, since you get to do family stuff, but not really, since yeah you gotta work harder to make up for it.

My work tried various things over the years to get people to work on holidays, none were too successful, but maybe it will work this year, in that they will pay you $150 bonus if you work either thanksgiving or black friday ($300 if you work both)

 

[cardgame]

If assuming you get holiday paid and then OT on that Saturday, yes, great deal. Since that was not spelled out and this is America, I'm assuming the worst-case and voted no, bad deal.

 

[Lexicus]

I believe in a 4-day workweek

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I believe in a 4-day workweek

I think my perspective is warped by having been a power plant worker. Power plants run 24/7/365 and there's no way around it. So I was already envious of normal five day week workers. If four had been the norm I'd likely have gone postal on someone.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I believe in a 4-day workweek

as do almost all people, when they can make their own schedule. at my previous university, the philosophy department unilaterally agreed to have friday completely off. weird how that works

 

[hobbsyoyo]

9-80's used to be common in my industry and are still around at Lockheed and such. You basically get every other Friday off by working a bit longer every other day. SpaceX has been a trailblazer in getting rid of perks and benefits like that and many start ups have followed suit. Paid overtime for salaried employees has also begun to disappear, even at the Lockheeds of the world. Oh and the unions died out for the professional ranks at most places as well, with trade unions not far behind on the road to extinction in the industry.

 

[rah]

Yeah losing one day the next weekend sucks, but you get extra pay so the three day weekend part isn't that bad.
That's what they do here also.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

9-80's used to be common in my industry and are still around at Lockheed and such. You basically get every other Friday off by working a bit longer every other day. SpaceX has been a trailblazer in getting rid of perks and benefits like that and many start ups have followed suit. Paid overtime for salaried employees has also begun to disappear, even at the Lockheeds of the world. Oh and the unions died out for the professional ranks at most places as well, with trade unions not far behind on the road to extinction in the industry.

9-80s aren't intended as a perk, they are an environmental concession. Reduces commute fuel expenditure by ten percent in one smooth cut. Can't beat that.