Garbage worker sent to jail for starting work early

[bonnie]

Garbage worker sent to jail for starting work early  

 

Most of the time your boss might be proud if you showed up to work early, but for one man in Georgia, that ambition landed him in jail.

Kevin McGill, 48, works as a garbage collector for Waste Management Inc. in Sandy Springs, which bans workers from collecting trash before 7am.

McGill showed up a few minutes after 5 a.m. and several residents called 911 complaining of the pre-dawn pickup, so he was taken to court.

 

 

The chief prosecutor in the case says the early pickups are a recurring problem and several collectors have been given fines.

He told WSB-TV, "The only thing that seems to stop the activity is actually going to jail."

The Internet was not supportive of the prosecutor's stance.

Emily Hawk tweeted, "You should be ashamed of yourself @SandySpringsGA."

Eddy Murphy asked, "FREE KEVIN MCGILL ! That Judge is an Idiot , How do you put someone in Jail for starting work too early ?"

Some even attacked the company, saying, "I wonder if @WasteManagement is using their tens of millions in profit to help their emp. Kevin McGill get out of jail time for doing job."

McGill was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but opted to serve his time over the next 14 weekends so he could continue working to support his family.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/03/09/garbage-worker-sent-to-jail-for-starting-work-early/21151349/?ncid=webmail1

[Stan]

He did not get fined for going to work early he got fined because he broke the law.

 

This is almost as bad as the FOX news that gets posted.

[bonnie]

He did not get fined for going to work early he got fined because he broke the law.

 

This is almost as bad as the FOX news that gets posted.

He wasn't fined,he went to jail.It is obvious from the story the employee created his own problem and why he paid the consequences.

[Tom Wetmore]

This is why so many of these stories scraped up from the bottom of the media barrel are annoying.  Just the title alone leads one astray from the real story.  It is like most National Enquirer type headlines set up to be sensationalistic.  The inaccuracy is the problem.  Yes, the story might convey a more accurate version, but reading the title alone is deceptive.  It is how false stories get circulated.  Someone just reads the headline, reacts and tells a friend.  Numerous times here  a poster reacts to the title of a topic without actually reading the story connected to it.  And then people get their knickers in a knot over being misunderstood or missing the point or whatever.

 

The reason he was prosecuted was not for starting work early.  It was for disturbing the peace in a residential neighborhood during hourshe wasn't supposed to be engaging in commercial/service activity.

[bonnie]

This is why so many of these stories scraped up from the bottom of the media barrel are annoying.  Just the title alone leads one astray from the real story.  It is like most National Enquirer type headlines set up to be sensationalistic.  The inaccuracy is the problem.  Yes, the story might convey a more accurate version, but reading the title alone is deceptive.  It is how false stories get circulated.  Someone just reads the headline, reacts and tells a friend.  Numerous times here  a poster reacts to the title of a topic without actually reading the story connected to it.  And then people get their knickers in a knot over being misunderstood or missing the point or whatever.

 

The reason he was prosecuted was not for starting work early.  It was for disturbing the peace in a residential neighborhood during hourshe wasn't supposed to be engaging in commercial/service activity.

It is pretty simple to understand what happened. It is not the responsibility of a reporter to make sure all read the entire story except for the headlines.

No matter how you cut it,this man started work early knowing he wasn't supposed to,sounds like he was warned and suffered the consequences of going to jail.

Had he not started early against the wishes of his employer,he would not have disturbed anyone

[bonnie]

Just a quick scan shows many links to this story,they all carry same title

[Liz]

My question is, why is this a recurring problem? Does the company not give ample time for trash pick-up, therefore, the workers feel they need to start early? If they keep giving fines, and the workers still are showing up early, then what gives?

[bonnie]

My question is, why is this a recurring problem? Does the company not give ample time for trash pick-up, therefore, the workers feel they need to start early? If they keep giving fines, and the workers still are showing up early, then what gives?

Who knows. Does sound like the employer doesn't have very effective control of how his employee's do their jobs. 

We have to have our own sanitation services here. There are five different companies that service or block,each on different days. Several come very early. As for disturbing the peace most of us aren't even aware of when they come thru

[Stan]

am waiting for them to blame the white house, or Obama or the Pope.

[bonnie]

am waiting for them to blame the white house, or Obama or the Pope.

Maybe do the unthinkable and place the blame squarely where it belongs. The driver and the company. After the first incidence if the employee continues to defy the rules,fire him. Then fine the company for the lack of discipline they can exert over employee's and don't. To have it reach the point where someone goes to jail is ludicrous,when it should never have been allowed to escalate to that point. Lousy boss,lousy employee

[bonnie]

Can't blame Obama tho he never knows anything until he reads it in the news.

[B/W Photodude]

Even if he knew, it was all George Bush's fault anyway!

[Igakusei]

It is not the responsibility of a reporter to make sure all read the entire story except for the headlines.

It IS the responsibility of the reporter to report stories accurately, and if they're relaying a story with such a misleading headline, they're a very poor journalist. The headline plays right into the whole "American values are going the way of the dodo" narrative, by implying that the man was fired for literally no reason other than being a hard worker.

If I were to look at the comments on most of the websites responding this story with this headline, I expect that they're all very far to the right, and that the majority of the comments will be just taking the headline and running with it, using it as an excuse to complain about Obama and bemoan the fall of America.

I suspect that higher quality sources aren't reporting on this incident at all, because there's no real story here. Man disobeys regulations repeatedly and gets arrested. Yay.

[bonnie]

It IS the responsibility of the reporter to report stories accurately, and if they're relaying a story with such a misleading headline, they're a very poor journalist. The headline plays right into the whole "American values are going the way of the dodo" narrative, by implying that the man was fired for literally no reason other than being a hard worker.

If I were to look at the comments on most of the websites responding this story with this headline, I expect that they're all very far to the right, and that the majority of the comments will be just taking the headline and running with it, using it as an excuse to complain about Obama and bemoan the fall of America.

I suspect that higher quality sources aren't reporting on this incident at all, because there's no real story here. Man disobeys regulations repeatedly and gets arrested. Yay.

As Huffington Post seems to be read by some here

 

 

Georgia Trash Collector Jailed For 30 Days For Showing Up To Work Early

 

Huffington Post‎ - 2 days ago

A sanitation worker in an Atlanta suburb is behind bars forgetting to work too early.

 

 

 

• Let me sleep: Georgia trash man gets 30 days in jail for 5 ...

   

  news.yahoo.com/let-sleep-georgia-trash-man-gets-30-days-...

  •  

  Yahoo! News

   

  2 days ago - Garbage collector jailed for working too early .... stupid and for the DA to call garbage men a nusence was just wrong how bout we go on strike ... Official: 11 service members missing in crash presumed dead Associated Press.

[bonnie]

I suppose it is possible that there are a few that would take the title of the article to mean this poor man went to work early and was hauled of to jail and make a federal case out of it.

Most people with even average intelligence would recognize that there is more to the story.

 

It really never occurred to me that there would be those that wanted to make such an issue over the title of the story. 

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Garbage trucks tootle around here beginning at 5AM and wake up everyone.  I'd love to have them show up later.  But *that* will never happen!

[Tom Wetmore]

And that is apparently why the regulation was put in place where this guy worked. People must have decided that it was not acceptable for garbage pick up to disrupt the peace and quiet of residential neighborhoods during early morning hours. The same rule would prohibit landscapers doing yardwork in the middle of the night, delivery services dropping packages during the night, contractors working on houses, etc. it may also be part of a general noise ordinance that says residents have to dial back noise of parties, etc during hours most people sleep.

That this is being reported on cranky websites and here for that matter and people being upset that we should have such rules and enforcement of them, demonstrates a disturbing trend that seeks to foment controversy and anti-government/authority as if such rules of civilization are a bad thing.

Even as I sit and type this the Today Show is reporting a problem with loud parties through the night in residential neighborhoods contrary to local zoning rules. But the problem being reported is the lack of enforcement of those rules despite citizen complaints. I suppose those interested in protecting the early morning garbage collector should move to those neighborhoods where government doesn't intrude on citizens right to create a disturbance of the peace and quiet for everyone else.

[bonnie]

That this is being reported on cranky websites and here for that matter and people being upset that we should have such rules and enforcement of them, demonstrates a disturbing trend that seeks to foment controversy and anti-government/authority as if such rules of civilization are a bad thing.

Even as I sit and type this the Today Show is reporting a problem with loud parties through the night in residential neighborhoods contrary to local zoning rules. But the problem being reported is the lack of enforcement of those rules despite citizen complaints. I suppose those interested in protecting the early morning garbage collector should move to those neighborhoods where government doesn't intrude on citizens right to create a disturbance of the peace and quiet for everyone else.

So who was upset that they have such rules? I just think the whole thing is rather silly to have reached the conclusion of jail for employee's. It is a lack on part of management that they have such little control of their employee's. A stiff enough fine for the company for repeated violations probably would have taken care of it before the expense of court and jail.

We have very early morning pickup here and I have never heard anyone complain but apparently we have different regulations.

 

Is Huffington Post,Associated Press and Yahoo news cranky websites in your opinion? 

[Igakusei]

It's true that they're not all cranky websites.

 

As far as I can tell, the issue is that these rules are typically enforced by fining the companies and letting them deal with the offending drivers internally. Given the prosecutor's statements, it sounds like he feels that they've tried that and found that they were still constantly having this problem. Going after the drivers directly was his next "escalation" given that going after the garbage companies (as most jurisdictions do) didn't seem to be working.

 

All that said, it seems that the city didn't like the negative attention this story has gotten and reversed their decision:

 

http://atlanta.suntimes.com/atl-news/7/78/102658/garbage-man-jail-time/

[joeb]

am waiting for them to blame the white house, or Obama or the Pope.

I think it's Stan's fault.  He preached a sermon on the benefits of ambition and this is the result.

[bonnie]

I think it's Stan's fault.  He preached a sermon on the benefits of ambition and this is the result.

Actually I think this whole thing is pretty amazing. An article that appears in numerous places with same wording in title is branded as sensationalizing by certain "crabby websites" . This doesnt  bear any resemblance to what has been said here....That this is being reported on cranky websites and here for that matter and people being upset that we should have such rules and enforcement of them, demonstrates a disturbing trend that seeks to foment controversy and anti-government/authority as if such rules of civilization are a bad thing. 

There should have been other ways to stop the offender.  Coming down on the employer with a stiff fine generally gets  someone's attention. It makes you wonder why the employer didn't issue him a warning on the first offense and you do it again you are out of here. Doesn't seem to have impacted his job for his behavior.

 

Would the reaction here been different had this been from Salon or Huffington Post,rather than AOL mail?

[LegalEagle]

Did the article say that this driver had specific knowledge about the ordinance and wilfully ignored it? Short of that, jail seems a little over the top.

Glad they reversed their jail decision.

[bonnie]

Did the article say that this driver had specific knowledge about the ordinance and wilfully ignored it? Short of that, jail seems a little over the top.

Glad they reversed their jail decision.

No it didn't say that.Apparently he was rather new on the job. This company certainly operates differently than the local companies here. The sanitation trucks are parked behind a locked fence and the keys turned in to the company when their shift is over. 

It still seems odd that an employer had so little control over this problem.

[Tom Wetmore]

Administrative Note:

 

A number  off topic and non-substantive posts have been removed which did not contribute meaningfully to the conversation in this topic.  They were primarily unnecessarily and inflammatory partisan rhetoric or personal attacks on others within this community.  Responses to those posts have also been removed.

 

 

This sort of thin skinned and defensive participation and what seems as intentional and offensive provocation needs to stop.  Certain people need to just learn to play nicely or find another sandbox where kick sand in others face is acceptable conduct.

 

 

Thanks for your cooperation.