‘Scared to speak up’: More employees call out St. Louis City for poor pay and worker mistreatment
By Melanie Johnson
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — More St. Louis City employees are coming forward with allegations of discrimination and unfair wages. This comes after a First Alert 4 report regarding a federal lawsuit filed by nine sanitation workers against the city.
Forestry department tree trimmers and landscapers say they are being overworked and underpaid with an understaffed department.
“The biggest problem in the department is the pay,” says one employee. All the hard work and all the time I’ve put into this job doesn’t amount to nothing.
According to a forestry worker, they are done about 20 employees and fear backlash from managers for taking a stand.
The whistleblower says they are working up to 3 outside jobs to make ends meet.
“They’re scared to speak up because they’re scared of retaliation,” the anonymous employee said. “For the department to be fully staffed, it has to be 28 people and I think we’re down to like 8-10 people.”
The Forestry Department does not have a union and employees tell First Alert 4 this their notice to the mayor before they quit.
“It makes me feel very unappreciated as an employee. See what it takes to get us some more staff and some more money.”
According to city data, the lowest paid position is a tree trimmer with a salary of over $20,000 a year.
The forestry department joins St. Louis City Fire and the Department of Refuse with workers unhappy about the work environment and pay.
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