Oakland Mayor Quan’s Waste Management – CWS Redo Pisses Off Many

UPDATE: CITY APPROVES SPLIT CONTRACT 6-1-1

QUAN PRESS RELEASE:

The City Council voted Monday night to approve a waste contract proposal to which California Waste Solutions and Waste Management of Alameda County mutually agreed, a deal reached in negotiations mediated by Mayor Jean Quan.

Under the agreement, which takes effect July 1, 2015:

· Residents will get more services and pay $36.82 per month, total, which is the lowest rate increase negotiated and significantly less than increases seen recently in nearby cities. The new rates to residents are a 24% increase after a decade with no increases to their base rate. (This is the same rate the City Council approved in August when it voted to give CWS the contract for all three services: the two companies have agreed to share the contracts at the same bottom-line price to residents. Alternatively, residents can cut back to a 20-gallon can and pay a monthly increase less than $3.)

· California Waste Solutions, which currently provides recycling service for about half the city, will provide recycling services for the entire city.

· Waste Management will continue providing trash and compost service.

· The City of Oakland enters its greenest-ever waste contract, with a record 80 percent of waste diverted away from landfills.

· Waste Management will drop its legal action against the City Of Oakland as well as its referendum efforts toward a special election to overturn the Council’s August decision.

· Oakland’s ongoing efforts to reduce and mitigate illegal dumping get a boost, with 25 illegal dumping site pickups per day.

“Oakland has come a long way to get to this deal,” Mayor Quan said. “I’m grateful to California Waste Solutions and Waste Management of Alameda County, the City Council and my administration’s staff for their hard work and dedication to the people of Oakland. In particular I thank Councilmembers McElhaney and Kalb for their leadership and partnership, and David Duong and his family for their deep dedication to our city.

“The bottom line behind this deal is good news for residents,” Quan added. “We have fought for and secured the lowest rate increase we could after a decade without increases. We have guaranteed continuity of service when the contract changes over July 1. And we have won the greenest contract in Oakland’s history, making our city a national leader in diverting waste away from our landfills. I look forward to our continued work together serving the people of Oakland.”

On August 8th, 2013, the City of Oakland’s City Council voted 7 to 1 to give the town’s garbage collection franchise contract not to Waste Management, which had it for a decade, but California Waste Solutions, which wanted it. Now, on Monday, September 22nd at 5:30 PM at the Oakland City Council, the city’s legislative body will take up a new garbage agreement, one that split work between Waste Management and California Waste Solutions, or “CWS”.

Mayor Quan said this:

“For the last several weeks, Waste Management of Alameda County, California Waste Solutions and Mayor Quan have been working together to negotiate an agreement that would maintain low rates for Oakland residents and ensure consistent pick-up service. We have reached a tentative agreement that we believe will do those things and continue making Oakland among the greenest cities in the United States. The details will be released at noon Friday so the public can review it before a special City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, where we hope to work with the Council to approve this major step forward for Oakland. We are grateful to everyone who has put in long hours on this issue, including both companies’ negotiators, administration staff and the City Council. By coming together to work through tough issues, everyone involved has put Oakland first, and we look forward to our next steps together.”

But while Mayor Quan seems set to do a victory lap, there are many who are more than upset with her over how this came about. Those same people also say the mainstream media has not told the whole story. So buckle-up.

California Waste Solutions is a mid-sized, but growing minority-owned company, owned by the Duoug Family, and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area; Waste Management is based in Texas, and is a giant conglomerate. In part because of CWS’s comparatively small size, and a staff report that favored Waste Management, WM minders fully expected the Oakland City Council to vote the sub-$1 billion contract for them. But that didn’t happen.

Almost the moment the vote went against them, Waste Management went ape-shit, cried foul, and filed a lawsuit, the one you see in the Scribd document below, and in it, making political corruption claims. The spokesperson for Waste Management even went out of his way to tell me that CWS had family ties (he said “cousin”) to Oakland District Six Councilmember Larry Reid. (The implication to the uninformed, but racially-inclined, would be to think that CWS was a black firm, and that Reid was helping a black family friend. None of that is true one bit as CWS is not black owned or operated. What is true is that Reid’s daughter worked for CWS, but beyond her, CWS was a product of the behind the scenes work of then-Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, who reasoned that a locally-grown garbage company was needed to counter what became Waste Management, and did that long ago.)

Waste Management Lawsuit Against City Of Oakland Doc by Zennie Abraham

In addition, after the vote was made, the final resolution wasn’t stamped by the Oakland City Clerk on that August 13th, 2014 day. Instead according to my sources, the City Clerk reportedly went on vacation, then returned and stamped the document on August 27th. That full two week window was what Waste Management took advantage of in the immediate filing of their lawsuit. Why? Because without the stamp of the filing of the ordinance, the City Council vote wasn’t officially law. WM struck before it could become Oakland law via the stamp. But the lack of a timely stamp also put a wrench in bank loan negotiations CWS had; without true proof of their major get with the City of Oakland, the smaller garbage firm could not get the financing they needed.

That news, I must add, runs counter to the idea that some have that Waste Management was so powerful it could actually ‘call a bank’ and ask them not to give a loan to California Waste Solutions. Moreover, that idea is completely silly; how would Waste Management know what banker, let alone bank, to call? It’s the kind of conspiracy idea that some who don’t run companies and don’t have business experience attribute to others who do. Truth: it wasn’t so.

The Waste Management Referrendum Project

Seeking to get its way, Waste Management took to the streets, to the people of the City of Oakland, to gather enough signatures to force a special election, and give Oaklanders a chance to pick them to haul their trash. The problem was, and is, the WM efforts were, as Councilmember Kernighan put it, “dishonest” and to counter that, went to the real Oakland media of today, the listservs, to make her case:

Neighbors: Get the facts before you sign!
The paid signature-gatherers in front of Peet’s on Lakeshore and elsewhere are making blatantly untrue statements in order to get people to sign their Referendum petition on the new garbage contract.
The Referendum campaign is paid for by Waste Management, a Texas corporation, which lost the competition for the new garbage/recycling contract to California Waste Solutions, a local Oakland company. WM is now bringing to bear its limitless resources to overturn the Council’s decision and prevent CWS from succeeding.
Here are some of the FALSE statements told to voters at the petition sites:
“You can prevent your garbage rates from going up if this petition is successful.”
“There will be no more recycling service.”
“For the next ten years, your garbage will not get sorted. Everything will go into the landfill.”
Here’s the TRUTH:
· Garbage rates will go up next summer no matter which company gets the franchise. If the City had awarded the franchise to Waste Management, your garbage rates would be going up even higher than they will be with CWS. (Garbage rates always go up significantly when a new franchise contract is negotiated in any city, which happens about once every 10-20 years. WM’s first proposal to the City was to raise your rates by 75%! After much negotiation, WM reduced the amount of the increase, but CWS’ bid was even lower.)
· There will be no reduction in service with the new contract. You will still have the three bins, one for garbage, one for recycling and one for green waste. Senior citizens can still get assistance in bringing carts to the curb.
· If this referendum petition gets enough signatures, it will trigger a Special Election, as it is too late for the November election. The cost to run a Special election is well over a million dollars and will come out of Oakland’s General fund.
I am appalled that Waste Management is lying to voters to get them to sign the referendum. Don’t let them trick you. If you have further questions about the garbage franchise, please email me—I am happy to provide more information.
A final note: there are good men and women working at WM locally and I am not impugning them. It is the corporate management of this corporation which is driving the disinformation campaign.
Yours,
Pat Kernighan
Oakland City Council President
And Councilmember for District 2

Waste Management canvassers were, and have been, all over Oakland. Reports of Waste Management signature gatherers harassing residents and even a news reporter, have been commonplace. The common resident response is reflected in this listserv note:

 

Some guy just came to the door asking for us by name (and referencing what was clearly a list of registered voters on a clipboard) and saying that they are gathering petitions to “put the Waste Management contract on the ballot”. We did not open the door and told him that we would absolutely not sign his petition.

Indeed, Oaklanders not wanting to sign the Waste Management petition should have been met with polite thank yous, but instead, they were “bullied and harassed” according to the Oakland Post, which chronicles an account where Pam Drake, Director of the Lakeshore Business Improvement District, said that “If you said no or argued, they ran after you, harassed you or took a picture of you.”

Mayor Quan’s Secret Moves To Make WM Happy Piss Off Oaklanders

Meanwhile, Mayor Quan was making moves of her own that would result in the proposed ‘split work’ contract the Oakland City Council is due to vote on Monday. But the actions were not welcome by many. This is local micro-blogger Tonya Love in a Facebook exchange started by a Facebook post by legendary Oakland Blogger Davey D:

I feel particularly upset by this compromise after 1. The council asked us to fight back against WM shenanigans..2. defended their choice to go with a local company..and after all that, decide to compromise? Why? Why put us through all these shenanigans if they were just going to turn around and change their mind? Why not tell us..”Calm down everyone we are going to try to work on a compromise”. Yes, I find it hard to swallow.. Jean Quan said ‘she was working on it” yet council claims they just found out about it Thursday. Some residents and I went on a tour with CWS staff to get answers to questions about the new facility ..and on our way back we learn about this “happy news” which threw us for a loop. ..Feeling really manipulated by this whole process. Ugh!

In the same thread, the full account of which is below, Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney (District Three) wrote this:

When you get 100% of what you want it’s called a victory. Waste Management could have had this deal in May before incurring additional costs. They have spent millions in legal fees, consultancy fees, advertising in our local press to return to the deal that was advanced by members of the Council several months ago. The Duong’s and CWS are incredibly strong. Because they believed Oakland deserved a better deal, they stood up and pushed back.

Sometimes you may not have to slay Goliath to bring him to his knees. While the victory here wasn’t pretty, you can be assured that it is a victory for CWS and for Oakland overall. When the Council stood united, the people were protected.

Zahieb Mwongozi is right about what this could signal when the executive does not stand with the legislative branch. It is a serious concern. But don’t miss what happened here people said could not happen in Oakland. The City Council stood together and pushed a powerful corporate giant into a position to give us 100% of the deal points we desired. The Administration’s “Option #1” would have forced CWS to shutter it’s Oakland operations and withdraw from the construction of their new facility. Their “Option #2” would have granted CWS city-wide recycling but at a significant hike to the ratepayer. Several members of the Council had proposed a revised Option #2 that would be a win-win but was rejected. They somehow believed that the Council would fold since the press on this only supported the Administration’s position.

The Council did not fold. WM lost the award. And, now after spending a lot of money AND damaging their brand, they have returned to the position that allows an Oakland company to expand its business and provides continuity of service for residents and workers.

Later, in a direct Facebook conversation with me, Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney said this, and took a swipe at one media organization for just printing what Oakland City Staff wrote in the staff report:

It’s frustrating Zennie. We can’t get anyone in the mainstream to examine the whole story. That’s been true the entire time of the franchise negotiations. Santana left this thing a mess and it was a freight train by the time Henry stepped in. Think about this: The staff that advanced CWS into negotiations told us that both firms were equally qualified and that they wanted to negotiate with both. When they conclude their negotiations, they then return with An Option #1 that would in effect put an Oakland business and OAB developer out of business. why? Then they kept promoting the myth that CWS never handled a garbage contract, when they wholly own Viet Nam Waste Solutions that provides full spectrum delivery for 7M people to US EPA standards. On top of that they started making a big deal of the need for a billing system. CWS has a fully integrated billing system with the city of San Jose. In Oakland, the city staff has to hand prepare delinquency notices because WM does not have software that transfers data to the city. It is antiquated. So, who benefits here? Why wouldn’t even the EBX follow up on these claims? They printed whatever staff said and that became the truth. The Council didn’t do anything wrong. The only firm to lobby the Council (WM) loss. CWS didn’t lobby. Larry didn’t even push this. He supported but didn’t push and didn’t move to sway anyone. This was a based on the facts decision and the mayor and staff worked hard to get the contract to WM. Why? Who benefits? And will anyone dare to print the facts?

On the claim of WM’s lobbying, the email below, from Waste Management’s Dave Tucker, to then-Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana in 2011, demonstrates its efforts:

From: Tucker, David Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 1:39 PM To: Johnson, Scott Cc: Subject: Request to Meet from Waste Management of Alameda County

Good morning Mr. Johnson,

Let me re-introduce myself…I am David Tucker, Director of Community and Government Relations for Waste Management of Alameda County.

As you know Waste Management of Alameda County is the City’s franchise hauler for trash, green waste and 1/2 of the City’s recycling. Earlier this year the City extended the franchise agreement that was set to expire in Dec. 2012 to July 2015. In so doing, we believe there are a few issues that we would like to bring to your attention as the city prepares to develop an RFP for the next trash, organics and recycling contract.

I would to invite you to meet the Waste Management – Ca Bay Area leadership team that includes Barry Skolnick – Area Vice President, Greg Ong – Area Controller, Jack Isola, Senior District Manager for the Davis Street Transfer Station, Ken Lewis – Area Director for Landfills, a couple others and I. To learn about our operations in Oakland and Alameda County today and the programs and process we have in store for the future.

Typically, I would ask guest if they could join us for our Monday Morning Managers mtg at 8:00 am here at 172 98 Ave., Oakland. If a Monday morning is not possible, we can explore a time mid morning or early afternoon, whichever is suitable for your schedule.
th

Available Monday mornings – Nov. 7, 14 and 21.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.
6

David Tucker 510-

Waste Management recycles enough paper every year to save 41 million trees. Please recycle any printed emails.

It was also clear that Deanna and Assistant City Adminstrator Scott Johnson didn’t want to meet with WM, but planned to do so, even as they were crafting the RFP that would eventually lead to CWS initial win:

From: Sent: To: Subject: Santana, Deanna Wednesday, October 19, 2011 5:13 AM Johnson, Scott Re: Request to Meet from Waste Management of Alameda County
Strike a balance between listening to them and not appearing that you closed your door too soon, rather than following integrity guidelines (which we have not released) prior to release if a RFP. I read it more as if they want to share their concerns, which we can take or not…but open to why you are concerned. Sent from my iPhone On Oct 18, 2011, at 11:00 PM, “Johnson, Scott” <SJohnson@oaklandnet.com> wrote:
I am not comfortable meeting based on the context of the purpose of the meeting (regarding RFP, see below).

I think we need to consider the process integrity guidelines and “cone of silence’, especially since it is known we plan to issue RFP.

Vit, if there are issues regarding the existing contract that need to be addressed, they should meet with the appropriate DPW staff, agree?

Thx, Scott

Scott P. Johnson

Scott P. Johnson Assistant City Administrator Phone:

I have to ask: where is Oakland’s Auditor Courtney Ruby in all of this?

One more example of why New Media’s better. Here’s the full Facebook thread that’s worth reading:

See more

Post by Dave ‘Davey D’ Cook.

The Oakland City Council meeting is at 5:30 PM, tommorrow, Monday, September 22nd at Oakland City Hall, 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza. It’s going to be packed, so get their early.