Across the country, municipalities and townships have struggled with attracting and retaining drivers for municipal maintenance jobs like waste management, landscaping, building maintenance, and snow and ice removal. The problem is multifaceted and municipalities are trying to maintain their communities in spite of this labor shortage. Manufacturers, upfitters, and other stakeholders who work with municipalities should be invested in finding solutions to this ongoing obstacle.
Exasperated by the challenges of COVID-19, companies, and municipalities around the country are truly reaching out for solutions. Just recently, the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) joined other organizations in a letter to Congress urging support for the DRIVE-Safe Act (S.659, H.R.1475). The DRIVE-Safe Act is bipartisan legislation that aims to help address the driver shortage facing many industries, including waste and recycling.
Municipalities Need Support
The work that municipalities are responsible for affects citizens in every community across the country. Therefore, when municipalities and townships face challenges such as an ongoing labor shortage, community partners need to come together to seek solutions. At Monroe Truck Equipment, we are committed to being part of the solution.
One of the biggest dilemmas municipalities face in their efforts to address their labor challenges is finding and training Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) drivers. In fact, the DRIVE-Safe Act proposes that CDL drivers under the age of 21 are able to operate across state lines, which is currently prohibited in 49 states.
Ron Bergamini is Chief Executive Officer of Action Environmental Services, which provides waste management services for New York’s five boroughs and Northern New Jersey. Action is also looking to move forward with an apprentice program to train and onboard more technicians.
While municipalities are working on creating easier paths to training and earning a CDL, we are helping attack the other side of the problem by manufacturing trucks and equipment that are incredibly versatile that can be operated effectively without the use of a CDL. More non-CDL trucks allow business owners and municipalities to hire more talent, without extra training, to address this labor shortage.
This also directly benefits citizens in the community. Versatile, year-round trucks can keep budgets low and allow more work to get done in the community. It also helps communities address their own labor and unemployment issues, and gives citizens an opportunity to build a worthwhile career without the investment to earn and maintain a CDL.
Non-CDL Opportunities
Of course, not every municipal task can be completed without the use of CDL trucks. However, plenty of common tasks including waste management, landscaping, and snow and ice management can be addressed with the use of a strong and versatile work truck that falls under CDL requirements.
Monroe Truck Equipment’s non-CDL work truck, the DTS Metro, is able to handle a variety of tasks with ease, and maneuver around tight roads and alleyways for trouble-free access. To get the most out of a municipal budget, the DTS Metro is able to be easily converted for use throughout every season of the year.
The DTS Metro can accommodate nearly every task possible for a dump body application. The DTS Metro provides incredible ROI as it can be easily converted for use 24/7/365 with a large span of applications including:
- Run tight streets
- Offload material
- Snow and ice removal
- Salt spreading
- Parking lot clean up
- Garbage, recycling, and refuse pickup
- Gravel moving and distribution
- Dirt moving and distribution
- Mulch moving and distribution
- Branches and debris pickup
- Parks & Recreation tasks
- Utility repair tasks
Partnership First
At Monroe Truck Equipment, we believe in true and trusted partnerships with our customers. We serve municipalities across the country and work to find solutions for their most pressing needs. Our non-CDL truck, the DTS Metro, was created to help solve labor challenges by offering a versatile work-horse truck that can cover most municipal tasks.
We are working to shift the industry to better support our customers. If you want to learn more about the DTS Metro, or Monroe Truck Equipment, please reach out to our team today.