AFSCME Local 1733

We are talking with the members of AFSCME Local 1733 Maurice Spivey, Staff Representative, Adrian Rodgers, President, Vita West, VP, Chokese Parker, Sheby County Deputy Jailer Chair and Jeffery Whilhite, Chapter Secretary on The Bev Johnson Show on WDIA Radio.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Memphis probably presents the Ben Johnson Show.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Let me you say, Beth.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
I've got.

Speaker 4 (00:13):
Me.

Speaker 5 (00:18):
Let me you.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Say, She's gone Emphis doom game.

Speaker 6 (00:28):
No matter of the problem, she can have you.

Speaker 7 (00:32):
So all the phone.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
The normans on your mind. She was there Jimmy in.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
The hair by telling you to just keep the thing,
went around picking up this hunting show.

Speaker 8 (00:52):
Goes Bell got this outing game.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
Hey, you can hear every day you d I am.

Speaker 8 (01:02):
Well, got me a missopping.

Speaker 9 (01:48):
Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome into w
d i A The BEB Johnson Show. It is indeed
a pleasure to have you with us once again on
this Thursday, July seventeenth, twenty twenty five, and enjoined this
bad jealous day to day. Get ready to put your

(02:09):
ears on yeah, as we share the good news. When
it's your turn to talk with my guest this day
nine zero one five three five nine three four two
nine zero one five three five nine three four two

(02:29):
eight hundred five zero three nine three four two eight
hundred five zero three nine three four two or eight
three three five three five nine three four two will
get you in to.

Speaker 10 (02:50):
Me.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
And if this day, this this day.

Speaker 9 (02:58):
Thursday July seventeen, twenty twenty five, is your birthday.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Happy birthday to each.

Speaker 9 (03:06):
And everyone and y'all out there who may be celebrating
a birthday on this day. You know what I say,
Go out and celebrate your life.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
You better, you better.

Speaker 9 (03:20):
When we come back, we'll have guests, hopefully, my fingers crossed,
and I'll talk with you. Bev Johnson right here on
the Heart and Soul of Memphis w D I as.

Speaker 5 (04:57):
All the.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
You to just keep around.

Speaker 5 (05:16):
Show girl got here.

Speaker 9 (05:25):
Good morning, and welcome back to w D I a
the Heart and Soul of memph This is the Bev
Johnson Show.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'm Bev.

Speaker 9 (05:33):
I told you earlier, very special guest in the house.
I'm excited, but I've been fussing. See I don't know why.
I'm not gonna fuss. No, it's a good day today.
It's a good My boyfriend is back in the.

Speaker 10 (05:49):
Again.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
From as as he would always say, doctor King, Yes, ma'am,
doctor King, ask me local seventeen thirty three.

Speaker 6 (05:59):
Brother, Hey, I've been here, boyfriend, looking for you. You've
been married thirty years. This is my side piece. I'm
letting everybody know I love side I know that's right
and I've been been here and there. Now I'm back, okay, good,
And so I wanted to bring everybody up to speed

(06:19):
about what's been going on with the city while your
trash is not being picked.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
Up, Maurice. And I've had listeners that's a biggie ye
and you and then you listen. And I've had the
listeners who've been calling and say, well, anyway, we'll get out, we'll.

Speaker 10 (06:33):
Get out into that. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (06:34):
And I got some very very special guests, some of
them y'all heard before. Uh, but the brother I love
pumping up the youngest president of any local and asked
me international or local. My brother Adrian Rogers, thirty six
years old, running in local, doing a fantastic, wonderful job.
And like I told you, I always like to push

(06:54):
my people to the front, forefront. And so we got
the chapter Chairmss choke Eas Parker got her ride or
die missus, Jeffrey Willhight and the vice president, the very
elegant in the Steve ms Via West. And so you're
going to be hearing about what we've been doing as
relates to getting our people better benefits, better packages for
retirement pay raises and so on and so forth. But

(07:16):
we need to know and let you know when the
rubber meets the roll, when you see somebody out there
with a shovel in their hand, they patching up the
streets when you're you know, unfortunately some of our people
get locked up. We want them to be in the
best hands. You don't want any untrained, ununionized people down
there to a one popular or the correction center wherever

(07:36):
they're going to be inconcerated. But those people are directly
tied into Ask Me Local seventeen thirty three. We represent them,
even men and women over the regional one. And so
we're going to talk about the trash and while the
city is looking the way.

Speaker 9 (07:50):
It is, So go back, Maurice, tell our listeners Local
seventeen thirty three who you all represent.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
Who's in the union, what people the workers?

Speaker 10 (07:59):
The main one who basically started all are the Memphis
sanitation workers. We know that, uh.

Speaker 6 (08:05):
And then so when you get into public works, street maintenance,
sewer and drain sewer maintenance, wastewater treatment. All these people
who you see if somebody is working, they got a
city decal on Saturday truck. You know, they basically represented
by Ask me and so even with the deputy jailers,
correction officers, U people down in uh help me out,

(08:27):
Agri Regional one. Yeah, SHEEVCNY schools. Yeah, so you go
and so h yes, ma'am. Yeah, the doc workers, the
cafeteria workers, we got to make sure, like I say,
all of our children go to school. You want that
school to be clean. You want the food to be
clean and good and nutritious. And so we make sure
those people are highly trained, highly motivated, and well paid

(08:50):
so that your child didn't have anything happen to them
from the food they're eat and so on and so forth.
So those people, we represent them and make sure they
pay us good and that they give you a good service,
you know in Atlanta duty good.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Good, Well, let's get president in here. You said he's
the youngest.

Speaker 10 (09:07):
Yes, youngest rogers.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Good morning and welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome.

Speaker 5 (09:12):
How are you?

Speaker 2 (09:13):
I'm good.

Speaker 10 (09:14):
How you doing?

Speaker 2 (09:16):
You got a task, don't you, yes, ma'am, Yes, ma'am,
I do.

Speaker 6 (09:19):
But but we're working. I got a great team around me,
and we're doing. Uh, we're doing tremendous things with asking
right now. We got some great things coming up this
year with feeding the homeless. We're gonna be giving our
churches later this year. Also, we uh, we hear the
city cris when they talk about the blake. We hear

(09:39):
the city cris when they talk about their little ones
in present. So we want to make sure that we
let them know that we're doing the best that we
can to make sure, uh that they come home safe
and that this trash is picked up most definitely.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, is it?

Speaker 11 (09:54):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (09:55):
Adrian?

Speaker 12 (09:56):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (09:56):
One of the things that I was concerned about, is
it hard to get workers city? I don't know who
hires the city hires? How does that work?

Speaker 6 (10:06):
So so a lot of people don't know. When King
came here, it was thirteen hundred sanitation workers. At the moment,
it's like three hundred and seventy something. Whoa, whoa yes,
so that what yes? So a lot of people don't
understand that when you were working with thirteen hundred in
sixty eight and now you're down to right in four

(10:28):
hundred twenty twenty five, it's gotten bigger. Yeah, more population
less sanitation workers. So we have been working with city leadership.
They agreed to hire on one hundred and two more
individuals for this for this job, and we need them, Bill,
We need them bad, brother. And it's an uphill battle

(10:51):
because we got like a thirty three percent turnover rate.
So as fast as we get the people hired in
and get them trained, get them part of a crew,
the smallest misshap happens and boom, they right back out
the door. So those are some of the things that
we go on in the background. But you know, we
talked about why the trash is not being picked up.
In twenty sixteen, they took away a key, vital part

(11:15):
of our day to day operation. These are men and women.
They look like they were on a conventional garbage truck,
but the only job responsibility was things outside of the cart.
So they only job was to get the stuff off
the ground. So they took that away almost ten years ago.
And for the last almost ten years, bab, we have
been begging various administrations, various directors to please allow us

(11:40):
to clean this city up, and they haven't. They haven't
given us the manpower or the equipment. Every day, and
I challenge anybody within the sound of my voice, if
you go to any one of the barns, either on
Ferrisview or Bellevue, you will see men and women standing
around who hired on full time permanent, who do not
have a truck to go out on every day.

Speaker 10 (12:03):
That is what we yes, So I have.

Speaker 6 (12:05):
Been working closer to administration to fix the issue. We
have about one hundred and two one hundred and three
pieces of equipment that's down every day. So what the
guys are doing they playing relay with the trucks. So
administration did order flee of trucks. They should be rolling
in no later than December.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
But glad to hear that, man, I'm glad to hear that.

Speaker 6 (12:27):
Yeah, So so hopefully we can get this. Yeah, So
hopefully we can get this. Uh, we can get it together.
We rolled out a plan which was Monday, basically to
help the citizen of Memphis so they can see a change.
So hopefully within the next three weeks the trash that's
on the curve will be coming up and being.

Speaker 10 (12:46):
Moved out the way.

Speaker 9 (12:48):
So Adrian, So, I want our listeners to know when
they talk about the trash and all that it is
not you all's fault.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
Is no, no, no, it's not our fault. And because
people and they've called this show and say, well they
not picking up this and they just standing still and
I've had that on here, But it's not you all's fault.

Speaker 6 (13:11):
No, no, no, no, So we shorthanded. We do have
an equipment issue. The way we was delivering service before
this new administration came in. Mary John did make it
clear that he wanted to see the clean and me
and him been working together to make sure we can
get it clean. So hopefully, like I said, within the

(13:31):
next three weeks, we'll still change. But it's not my
guy's fault. Most definitely, it's not their fault.

Speaker 2 (13:38):
So you said also that hopefully that you can get
some more employees.

Speaker 6 (13:44):
Yes, yes, the employees are very important. But when he
talked about we're relaying the trucks, that means at seven o'clock,
three men get on the garbage truck and they go
out and they pull their route. They come in at
ten o'clock, eleven o'clock something like that. Another crew has
to get on that true and take it right back out.
And so if it's late or it doesn't get picked up,

(14:06):
it's because men are sharing trucks. When in the past
we didn't have that issue. It was never an issue
with equipment. And so now when he gets out there
in the hottest part of the day. You know, at
eleven o'clock the sun is leaning on you like it,
oh you you know, twenty dollars or something like that.

Speaker 10 (14:23):
And so.

Speaker 6 (14:25):
They have to take breaks, and so as the workforce
has gotten older, and so we're looking at a situation
where if they don't get these trucks in here soon,
and we're looking at blight and illegal dumping and things
of that nature, you're looking at a crisis that's about
to crash. It is about to fall in where Memphis
is going to start looking like Detroit. And we all

(14:46):
know what Detroit went to in the early two thousand.
It was garverning. You just saw what happened with the
striking Philadelphia. And we're not talking about a strike. This
is men and women going to work every day, and
your city will look that nasty. So we're on the
brink up that. That's why we come out of communicating
with the people. Be patient with your garbage man, your
sanitation worker. It is not his or her fault that

(15:07):
they don't have equipment to come out there and work
on you know what.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
I'm so glad you said so you said three people.

Speaker 6 (15:12):
On this, ma'am that sometimes it's too and so it's
usually the driver and then two people, two people on
the back.

Speaker 2 (15:20):
And you know what, Adrian and Maurice. Yesterday I was
going to my therapy.

Speaker 9 (15:27):
And I passed a truck and I said, oh, they're
picking up you know, getting the trash. Went on therapy.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
It's an hour. When I came back, they were kind
of still in the same air. But since you explain
that to me, I get it. Yes, I said, they
haven't moved very far.

Speaker 6 (15:48):
Well, what probably happened was that truck went back in
another because sometimes the routes are one street over, okay, yeah,
and he can't go past his route, so he comes back,
gives their truck to another crew, and they start back
on that next street over.

Speaker 10 (16:01):
So it looks like they haven't gone anywhere. But it
takes in an hour.

Speaker 2 (16:05):
Come out, Wait a minute, they're still in the same place.
Thank you for explaining.

Speaker 6 (16:12):
And that's what I'm trying to tell people. Be patient, y'all.
Don't know what's going on in the background. We're here
to explain that to you and so many other things,
like you know, there's a major conversation going on right
now about a new jail and new med and things
that nature. We're gonna speak to that because of our
members safety and they're here to talk about that.

Speaker 9 (16:31):
You know that.

Speaker 6 (16:32):
You know, it's not just an issue about a new jail.
You you want your people to be safe, that's right,
you know, So we represent all of that. So we're
gonna talk about it, and please people be patient with us.

Speaker 10 (16:44):
We're on here. It's not public relations.

Speaker 6 (16:46):
We know that we belong to the people and so
that's why we come on here and explain our position
because of our love for the citizens and the people
of the city of Memphis.

Speaker 9 (16:57):
Adrian, I know you said you have to get out
of here, but some other things you want to tell
our listeners that we need to know that when we're
talking about this trash and blight and all that.

Speaker 10 (17:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, So.

Speaker 6 (17:10):
Those guys are are are working hard, and I want
I want to see the Memphits to know that those
guys get up every morning, come to the job. Then
we got guys who still got four to fifty years
of service out there just continue to do the job.
So I want you guys to be patient with them,
giving them opportunity to get it clean. And we also

(17:31):
got to realize we don't have young guys, a lot
of young guys because we don't have a retirement. So
when them guys, when them guys doesn't have a pension
to go home to, they work until they sixty and
seventy years old. So those are some of the things
that we got to change here in this city. We
got to make sure we're looking out after the old
men and women. That's on the back of that truck.

Speaker 2 (17:51):
So what you're saying to me, the union is important,
that's right.

Speaker 9 (17:57):
And you all are are fighting for to get get
folks a pension or more money or better better wages.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
That's right. That's right.

Speaker 6 (18:05):
And since I've been sending in the seat, this council
have been real good to those men and women until.

Speaker 2 (18:14):
Good We're glad to do that.

Speaker 6 (18:16):
Yes, but we most definitely have to make a change
here in the city. We gotta treat those men and women,
gotta treat them right.

Speaker 10 (18:24):
They do.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
They're doing a hard job that a lot of people
don't want to do. And I'll take my hats off
to them. Yeah, I go back with Maurice always says
that you know about you know, doctor King came here
in sixty eight because of sanitation workers.

Speaker 9 (18:38):
And you think, Maurice, this is twenty twenty five, that
these workers would have just just just been floriable, would
have been bad. But now it's like we're going backwards.

Speaker 6 (18:49):
Yes, ma'am, well going back that's a much greater push
from you know, crazy white people is what I call them.
They call themselves conservatives or cons or whatever. But all
over America, doctor King's legacy is being attacked and torn down.
The Civil Rights Act, Fair Housing Act, Secondary Education Act,

(19:11):
and all this old goofy stuff they be talking about.
With DEEI and our rights a codified and law, not policy.
So you can change whatever policy you want, but when
you go into these backrooms and board rooms to negotiate,
that spirit of Jim Lobe is still alive and well,
and so we understand the much greater picture that they're

(19:33):
trying to destroy the legacy of doctor King. And we're
part of that legacy in twenty twenty five. So that's
why the mistreatment, the maladjustment and so on is gone
on over the years. It hadn't changed. And everything we get,
whether it's a break we have to fight for. We
had to go and negotiate every pay raise, they want
to give you one percent, two percent, three percent, which

(19:54):
ain't nothing compared to gas went up a dollar two
dollars and bread gone up a whole dollar. And so
we have to fight and scratch out every little thing
we get from various administrations. Now this administration is the
tone has changed, but the tenor hadn't. The tone has changed,
but the tenor haven't. So and once we get into

(20:15):
the other issues and how your taxes and how your
fees and things have gone up. And we had a
promise that if we got the fee increased last week
last year, that your services would be on time, and
we absolutely committed to that from a union perspective. They
jacked those fees way up and the people have not
gotten the service. And we're here to explain to the

(20:37):
people that's not on us. We've been begging them to
allow us to clean the city up. They haven't given
us equipment or the man power. Now they're working on
the manpower. Were waiting on the equipment. But please, like
my president said, be patient with your sanitation workers, be
patient with your ground crews. If you see someone, we
want to do something about the potholes. We hate filling
in pothole with garbage mix. We hate it, but they

(21:01):
won't let us pave the roads. Shelby County should I
mean Sherby Drivet should not be getting potholes filled. That's
a main thoroughfare repave it. I know they're doing some repairs,
but all these main thoroughfarees lamar, we want them repaving
as far as the city portion of it. We want
to do paving, not potholes. Potholes don't do number You're

(21:22):
gonna have a front end of lamb. They're gonna tell it.
But you know, these potholes are and so that's all
the stuff we talk about behind closed doors, ok you know,
and so those are efforts we push it.

Speaker 9 (21:32):
If you've just tuned in this morning, we are talking
with my guests from Ask Me Local seventeen thirty three.

Speaker 2 (21:41):
Adrian. I don't know how long you can stay, but
the lines are lighting up that probably want to ask
you a question.

Speaker 9 (21:46):
Can you stay a few more minutes? Okay, Okay, We're
gonna take a break, and so you can hear some
of the callers.

Speaker 10 (21:51):
Because oh yeah, yeah, you're in the peanut gallery.

Speaker 2 (21:58):
Hold on callers, Hold on callers, hold on listeners. We
will get to you next. You're listening, my guests are here.
From as Marie says, Doctor.

Speaker 9 (22:07):
King's Union Local seventeen thirty three, asked me, and you're
listening to the Bev Johnson Show on w d I.

Speaker 10 (22:17):
A got something to say.

Speaker 13 (22:20):
Say it next with Tennessee Radio Hall of Famer Bev
Johnson on w d IA, the Bev.

Speaker 5 (22:27):
Johnson Show.

Speaker 14 (22:53):
Over the.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
Working Hard to bring you ourday, and we're talking with

(23:22):
our guests from ask Me Local seventeen thirty three, going
to our phone lines to talk with you.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Hi, Steve, Hello, my most beautiful Black African Rose Cooler
Alseia Radio Hall of Fame, MS Bibley, Elaine Johnson, Hey Steve, Hey,
Adrian and Maurice. I'm gonna be quick, okay. I respect,

(23:53):
I respect sanitation workers. My grandfather Eugene Klems, his name
down on the wall. I'm a man. Work for the
st Yes, sir, work for the Sundations Department. Retired for
thirty years. Let me let me tell you somebody that
is a hard hustle. I got commercial license and about
twenty years ago I went to work for BFI as

(24:15):
a driver. You know where they put me at on the.

Speaker 10 (24:17):
Back of the truck, on the back of my gam.

Speaker 15 (24:25):
You know you can't.

Speaker 10 (24:27):
Man.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
Man, look they put me on the back of that
garbage truck. And I'm gonna tell you somebody, that is
a hard hustle. I last three days, you know. I
put the thing. Yeah, I put the garbage up, and
we dumped and all the lady garbage didn't go in there.
And I said, we'll ever forget it. Man, don't you
know that lady called we had gona way back over

(24:51):
there and dump up gotage.

Speaker 10 (24:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
Yeah, well now I left out half of the god
like that was I I worked there in the summer time, man,
I said, Man, I just can't do it. I just quit.
But uh, I can't understand how the city ain't got equipment.
You know, you let all these people come in here
every day every day from Arkis all in the city
don't pay no taxes. And I don't with you on

(25:16):
these poles, and I see these guys with these back
Damn the pothole. It seemed like all they do is
throw the tie in the hole and patch it up
and then as soon as the rainy come out to
make a bigger hole.

Speaker 11 (25:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (25:26):
Well, the garbage mix is what they put inside that
we don't use prime mix, and so the garbage mix
actually digs the pothole as the cars go over. It
has a digging effect. That's why Memphis potholes are so
deep and hard. They cut almost to the foundation of
the road. And we've been begging them not to do
that for years. I mean it's going on twelve thirteen
years that we want to pay these rods. Our people

(25:48):
are built, they pavers.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
You know, yeah, repay because like I said, you hit
one of them hole name and most of these people
they got they got the phone in, they hand, a
cigarette in the other hand and one hand on the
steward wheel. They had wanted these po hold man that
that car jumping another lane and tear it up. Tell
your call up and lay car. See.

Speaker 8 (26:06):
But man, look you.

Speaker 1 (26:07):
Got doing a wonderful job, my head doctor suntations workers.
But like you said, Bill, it's crazy how doctor King
came here and died for sanitation workers. And it ain't
going forward, no counter way possible, it's going backwards. That
is a crying say Bill, This last thing, okay, okay,
we don't do hot The word today is air conditioning.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
You got that right, You got that.

Speaker 1 (26:33):
Right, Steve ba By Steve.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
Thank you Steve. If you got that right, High Clyde.

Speaker 16 (26:40):
What's going on there? You got it, Clyde, hang against doing.
Listen to these gentlemen talking, I mean trying to the shore,
gonna they gonna piss me off. God, what these sanitation
working they being in hot sung. I mean, that's the
worst job for the city.

Speaker 4 (26:59):
And it ain't get them pension.

Speaker 16 (27:02):
I couldnt believe that. And all this money we've been
given to math and they've been messing off, and the
sittlement' named new trucks.

Speaker 1 (27:12):
We just took that money.

Speaker 16 (27:13):
Get the new trucks and the tension. We don't know
how we right around this city. This shitn't look so nasty.

Speaker 6 (27:24):
Well, I mean, that's that's why I pump up this
guy to my right. When he first became the president.
We set out because I was staff rap at the time,
I was no longer worked for the city to really
build these relationships and build these bridges with city council.
And because of his unique negotiating qualities, we are dead

(27:44):
set on and we are at the front doorstep of
getting most of asked me workers who are now social
security retirees. We're about to start negotiating to get them
back in the pension. So that's why I hyped my
guy up. I rais him. You know, he's a young
man and the family guy, two beautiful young daughters. But
the weight that he has on his shoulders to represent

(28:08):
the fourteen hundred members of this union very well and
to go into each one of these boardrooms and back
rooms and the insults we have to take in the beginning,
and we have to sit through all of that, the insults,
and he maintains his composure and we get right back
to business and we stay on task. And we've been

(28:28):
doing that for the better part of two and three years.
And right now we are at the doorstep of getting
not just meth sanitation workers, but sewer and drain, street maintenance,
ground crewise, parkway and rights away cruise, getting them back
into the pension. And that's I'm talking about three or
four years of hard, dedicated negotiations with Now we're going

(28:51):
into another city council. They're finish go into elections, but
probably before the new council comes in, we're going to
have this pension thing locked down.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
Before Okay, Clyde I.

Speaker 16 (29:01):
Am so disappointed. Paula gonna have the office and the
way they treat thesation work.

Speaker 2 (29:07):
Think youre bet you too Clide, thank you. Before I
go to our phone line and Adrian, I was gonna
and I'm glad Clyde mentioned it. I was going to
ask you you're working on the pension.

Speaker 10 (29:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (29:16):
So I had conversation with with the dep of the mayor,
some of the city council members about the pension.

Speaker 2 (29:22):
See what we can do, UH. Spoke to the Congress
to see what we can do.

Speaker 6 (29:27):
They say they have policies UH that's governed by the UH,
by the city that UH don't allow, don't allow asks
for members to be in the pension.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
So we're trying to see how can we get around
those policies. Okay, going back to our phone lines to
talk with you, Prince of the choll.

Speaker 17 (29:48):
Hey, what's up belt, How are you doing today?

Speaker 2 (29:50):
I'm doing well? Printing you Oh, like she said, the
word of today. Ain't got that right? They got that right.

Speaker 17 (29:58):
It's always a beout before I get started. I want
people to remind himself, please do not leave your children,
young children canamals in the back of your car or
in your car period and check on the lift possible.
What's up, my brothers, how y'all doing today?

Speaker 1 (30:14):
Everything is okay, man.

Speaker 17 (30:15):
You know, I went fishing a week ago, man, and
I was out in that heat. And now I know
how I feel for you guys just to be out there,
just for a couple of hours. But this is Beth,
This is the dilemma that I have. And second with
with with Maurice and mister okay, with Adrian Robinson. I

(30:36):
didn't know he was a preacher, because that's what I'm saying,
Adrian Rogers when I thought about that's all Baptist Church.

Speaker 10 (30:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 17 (30:56):
But but on a serious note, I cannot understand, and
Clyde was chucked on it.

Speaker 18 (31:01):
How in the world can.

Speaker 17 (31:03):
You guys not have a pension, a poor blown pension
for the type of work that you do. But we
got a pathetic city council, a pathetic.

Speaker 1 (31:11):
Mayor that's getting a pension.

Speaker 17 (31:13):
I guarantee you when they get ready to retire, they're
gonna get some kind of benefits out of it.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
And they can't.

Speaker 17 (31:18):
Was from nineteen sixty eight to twenty twenty five. You
guys still don't have nothing nothing.

Speaker 6 (31:24):
Well that was there was some negotiations that went on
from seventy four to seventy eight in which there was
a buyout because you let the old timers talk about it.
They had bad representation from asking me lawyers. But I
went back and looked at the record. Everybody that's signed
on their pension, none of those signatures are legible. So

(31:46):
we're just waiting on the opportunity to present that to
the city council and those legal people. So I got
to go back and find and stuff. There was a
hanky panker that happened down at the Union Hall, but
when I looked at those just were illegible. So they
saying these men signed away. They writs to the pinching
at seventy eight, and we're saying it's twenty twenty five.
There are two laws that need to be changed, one

(32:08):
federal and one local ordinance. And once we get those changes,
you know our people eligible go back into the pinch.

Speaker 5 (32:17):
Go on.

Speaker 2 (32:17):
Prince Agent wants to say something. Maurice Howell was mister
Cleo when he passed.

Speaker 10 (32:22):
He passed he was eighty four.

Speaker 6 (32:25):
So last year we had mister Cleo, eighty four years old,
worked on the job sixty years, sixty sixty years always
passed away.

Speaker 10 (32:34):
Yeah, and uh, it was hard.

Speaker 6 (32:36):
It was hard for thold men and women to see
a person that worked besides them to work on the job.
Sixty years of service in twenty twenty four. Yeah, I
mean that man should have been gone home forty years
ago exactly. Yeah, and we had we had to pass
the hat to make no mistake about it. Oh wow, Yeah,

(32:57):
we had to.

Speaker 10 (32:57):
Pass over Yeah.

Speaker 17 (32:59):
Yeahing about mister Jacob who was calling here the other
day talking about you know, this is unnecessarily that go ahead.

Speaker 18 (33:05):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 9 (33:06):
I was gonna say, Prince, you've had another question because
they got calls and and I want are to get
these calls because he has to go.

Speaker 1 (33:11):
Yeah, okay, I'm sorry.

Speaker 17 (33:13):
I just wanted to let you guys know, man, this
this is not right. And if it was up to
me as a mayor or working on city council, that
wouldn't been one of the first things that I would
have done to make sure that you guys, because you
they don't know how it is essential if this trick
or godance does not get picked up, trust me, we
gonna be like they did over in Friends.

Speaker 10 (33:31):
Philadelphia, and.

Speaker 17 (33:34):
Yeah joy and now here, Yes, that's always. Thank you
for allowing me to speak God you bless your heart,
blessed and now to day, thank.

Speaker 2 (33:42):
You YouTube friends. W D I a high caller.

Speaker 19 (33:47):
Hey, how are you doing?

Speaker 5 (33:48):
Hey?

Speaker 2 (33:48):
Common man?

Speaker 10 (33:50):
All right, hello to you. Guess Hey, what's going on? Man?

Speaker 19 (33:54):
What's happening? What's happening? Man?

Speaker 5 (33:55):
Hey?

Speaker 10 (33:56):
Look?

Speaker 19 (33:56):
Uh, first of all, thank you for your uh for
the transparent say. It allows us allows us to understand
a little bit better about certain situations. Uh. But I
want to ask you about two things if you're ever,
if you're ever able to talk to any bad about them.
I know you mentioned the potholes, but I think that
there may be some times that the city should think about.

(34:17):
And I know some of the highways are you know,
controlled by the state and maybe even some by the government,
but anything that the city is in control of, I
believe these potholes could be dangerous situations, sometimes.

Speaker 10 (34:30):
Absolutely dangerous situations. Yeah, pothole out going turn back. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (34:41):
So I hear that once you get inside to for
the loop, a lot of the state highways become city uh, right,
obligations and things of that nature. But it's a partnership
but what we're seeing is they put all this effort
into shoveling potholes because one they get the mistreat our
people and they love to see a black person with

(35:02):
a shovel in their hand. I got I think it
makes them your fork or something. They just and so
we want to get these things paved long lasting. The
pavement last two to three years with a little bit
of maintenance. You can croaking church after five years and
then you do another repavement operation. We're tired of putting
trash mix inside of these potholes. We know it's tearing
up our citizens cars and front ends and things. And

(35:23):
they blowing their tires out in the city absolutely cut
all of the money out for the reimbursing program. And
I don't we still have been asking about that. Then
they haven't done anything to address when you get a
brand new tie blown out, that they have no reimbursing.
When you crack a rim, they used to pay for
that stuff, they don't even do it anymore.

Speaker 19 (35:42):
Right, And see, we hit a whole back here, maybe
nearly a month ago, a month ago, and nearly lost
control of the vehicle. Imagine we're on the expressway during
sixty six five miles now and they could have been
a tragedy. People could have lost lives, and so if
you could ever speak about that in particular, please you
do so. Also, last thing of the situation with the

(36:04):
people that pick up the animals. I had a dog
to get hit in front of my house and lay
there for nearly a month before the people came out
to get the dog. And from what I understood understand,
I got it was a shortage demand power. But there's
a terrible situation to have a dig dead animal in
front of your house with everything that transparents after he
died and lay there for so long.

Speaker 6 (36:25):
Yeah, so we had three dead animal pickups for the
whole city, about three of them. Yeah, but it r
in the sound of my voice, please download the three
one one Memphis app. We're having some terrible problems going
on with the three one one called Data Center right now,
a little bit of turnover eate and they had some
some updates they had to do on their technology and

(36:46):
phone lines of that nature.

Speaker 10 (36:47):
So it may not even work.

Speaker 6 (36:48):
But if you download the three one one Memphis app
on your smartphone, iPhone or.

Speaker 10 (36:54):
Whatever I gotta. I'm an Android used, but.

Speaker 6 (36:57):
You should be able to get that done a little
bit quicker if you download through appen it has some
option on that to pick up dead animals. But we
only have three guys dedicated to picking up all these
dead animals.

Speaker 19 (37:08):
Yeah, that was the problem. I got through. I got through,
but it was the man power. And so if that's
something you all may be able to address, you know,
I would appreciate it because that was a terrible I
couldn't sit on the porch, you know, and so that
was bad. But I appreciate your man and I appreciate
your time with your transparency again.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Okay, all right, thank you comming man.

Speaker 10 (37:26):
W D I a HI caller, seeve Miss Johnson.

Speaker 11 (37:33):
How are you.

Speaker 2 (37:33):
I'm doing well, Brother Bernard.

Speaker 10 (37:37):
Yes, ma'am. Much respect to them. And on air, how
are y'all? Hey, what's going on? Man?

Speaker 12 (37:42):
Hey, it's all right. You know what, as one that
has been in the business of the of the environmental
safety throughout the years, you know, we need to press
the reality that sanitation is public safety because when we
talked about sanitation, if there is not the proper equipment

(38:04):
to do the job, then we get into the accumulation
of mosquitos. The accumulation of rodents and then once that
piles up, you get closer to some type of infestation
that is not healthy for anybody. Then we're talking about
disease carrying organisms and so on, and so, you know,

(38:25):
it's surprised. It's shocking to me that there is not
a pension plan, as Fire was saying, a pension plan
for those that are doing the job. And I know
that there are a lot of brotherren that that are
on that force that are talented and skilled, and I'm
curious to learn why is the reason why they're outsourcing

(38:48):
a lot of jobs and not handling them in house.
Because I know that that y'all are capable of paving
those roads and pressing that issue. But you know that
deferred maintenance is going to build up. But I hope
this current administration sorry to address it because you you
out there and you see what's going on, and uh,
I just want to respect y'all and put that put

(39:10):
that respect on.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
Your name and what you do.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
Thank you, Thank you, brother Bernard w D I a
lady p the labor one.

Speaker 10 (39:25):
Now to lady.

Speaker 5 (39:32):
What's going on for me and you guys? You know,
and thank you guys. So much for all you do.
You know what I mean? Because I think y'all do
a great, absolutely great job. I really do. And now
I get confinued so because of city of minis environ
men and I don't know, because I know my uncle,
I love if you know, a masses around us may

(39:52):
rest in fifty one years.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
And uh, I just missed so much time my brother.

Speaker 5 (39:59):
And thing about it, the work y'all do. Like I'm
talking about these animals that y'all pick up, you know,
y'all deserved. I mean, I mean this is crazy. I
mean you shouldn't even have to go through this, you
know what I'm saying. I'll say this so I don't
know what to say about I'll say this sometimes, bab,
but I just really don't, you know, I just really don't.
Because if you look at some of these hard working
like these men and your at yourself, and I'm glad

(40:22):
on your show there because the thing about you when
you on bel Bam, they have got missus talking and
they have got people you know me, So we.

Speaker 2 (40:30):
Got that right, and you know, and you know they
listening to us. They listening to us, right.

Speaker 5 (40:35):
And we gonna call and talk about it. You know,
and you're bad to believe it. When we get through talking,
you know something gonna happen. You're when we get you.

Speaker 6 (40:43):
Well, I'm I'm glad you did mention the environmental part
of We also represent the cold enforcement. Those men and
women have an extremely difficult job because with residential cold,
you like going in and and so we try to
keep these slum laws in the these bad rent ters
rented under control and the amount of paperwork and red

(41:06):
tape that's thrown at them. And so the housing issue
and fair housing and livable housing issue is paramount to
us too, because we know that these families have to
have proper housing. So our men and women that cold, environmental, residential,
commercial cold, they have an extremely difficult job because all
this stuff. When this becomes legal, they almost have to

(41:29):
turn into lawyers. But we're doing it on behalf our
men and women. We know that a lot of temp services.
You cannot afford to live in a nineteen hundred dollars
a month house, so you afford to live where you
can pay for it. But all the time, sometimes the
water don't work, you got leaks, you got cracks in
the found they so and so forth, and there's I
men and women that work in cold enforcement that go
in there and make sure that these landlords and these

(41:51):
slum laws are held to account and fix these properties
that make them decent places to live for our people.

Speaker 5 (41:56):
All right, I know they but they got to know
they also got to get some of their property. So
I ain't gonna shoo the cal because then they got
here too, that they got stuff out here like when
I I don't know what street, but you got sit
it on things out here too, So they need to
get taken care of the things that they got, trees
standing up what you can't even see when we were
in terror. I almost hear the car the other day

(42:19):
made me make I got this showing though point of you.
Let me say hey, my man, mem and let me
get out the right there when I said.

Speaker 9 (42:30):
You welcome, Lady Pete, thank you, And I'm gonna get
this last call, and I know and get at Adrian's
last verstar. I know you got to get that, but
we're gonna go to that side because we still got
some more folks too.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
But let me get this call. One of one of
these fates, but one of Marie's favorite on forgat phone. Yes, sir, man, you.

Speaker 14 (42:51):
Got a great show, Maurice and Adrian Rodgers. Two questions
I want to ask and I'm gonna get off there. Okay,
ma com let me make you come in real, real quick.
But not you made the greatest coming anybody can here. Man,
you one right, and I agree with you what you're saying. Man,

(43:13):
But it went under the radar, but I got it.
But okay, now let me go here. Why can't it
twenty four our twenty four seven sanitation workers? Why can
they do it like that? It is just what eighty
three in you all? You have a whole day to yourself.

Speaker 5 (43:28):
But what what's what's up with that?

Speaker 14 (43:30):
Y'all don't work at night?

Speaker 9 (43:31):
So hold on so that andrel what what time do
they work? Okay, okay, thank you, thank y'all forgetful. So
answer that question for unforgetful.

Speaker 6 (43:42):
Yes, so we do have a night crew. They runs
the mall downtown. Uh so they we've been running night
crew for over sixty years. Yeah, but we don't run
them for uh for different parts of the community. You know, well,
I mean we we we did so many sounds that
you don't want a God shall come down your house,
your street, nine o'clock at night, no idea and waking

(44:03):
you up, waking it and so it was a noise issue.
We try to do our job where everybody's out doing
their job for the comfort of the community and for
the convenience of the community. And so yeah, and if
you ever went down some of these streets, especially in
North Memphis and the older Myphis community, once everybody's at home,
you can barely get a car down those streets because

(44:24):
they parked on both sides of the streets. And so
you think about moving a thirty foot garbage truck, ten
foot wile garbage truck down those streets and children at
home planning, so on and so forth. So for safety issues,
we have a seventy three ship, but we also run
night crews downtown but trying to work on the weekend.
So it's safety and convenienced that we don't run those big, old,

(44:45):
loud garbage trucks at night when everybody at home trying
to enjoy themselves and not make out a noise.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
Right, good Adrian, any last words you like to say,
I know you tell.

Speaker 6 (44:53):
Me the patients patients. I also want to make sure
that the community to have patient with those sanitation workers
and also our patient with those different de jails. They're
doing an amazing job as well. They're short staffed and
that's the number one key patience.

Speaker 9 (45:07):
Yeah, and we're gonna talk more about that. Thank you
for being here, and I see my reason. I can
tell you you're a young man that you're about the business.

Speaker 10 (45:15):
Oh yeah, definitely about the business. You can't roll with
me if you're about the business.

Speaker 2 (45:19):
Okay, I love it. I love it. I love it,
I love it. Hold on, callers, hold on listeners.

Speaker 9 (45:25):
We're going to continue to talk with the folks from
Ask Me Local seventeen thirty three.

Speaker 2 (45:30):
As we go to the other side of the BEB
Johnson Show.

Speaker 13 (45:34):
On dou W d I A whether you're in Arkansas, Tennessee,
or Mississippi on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, thank you for
listening to The BEV Johnson Show on dou W d I,
A memphisph.

Speaker 7 (45:51):
Show that doesn't show Bell talking time with this talking

(46:39):
and home away holf you.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
Go, you go, so getting ready to go.

Speaker 10 (46:47):
It's talk bet just show.

Speaker 7 (46:51):
Show, let's go Bell doesn't we You'll make your day
right here?

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Wrong all you do.

Speaker 3 (47:02):
Listen to what today you know it's time about to show.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
The Mountain Show.

Speaker 1 (47:11):
Let's go.

Speaker 9 (47:23):
Good afternoon, and welcome back to wd I A The
Bev Johnson Show.

Speaker 2 (47:30):
It is a Thursday.

Speaker 9 (47:31):
It's hot here in Memphis, Tennessee, July seventeenth, twenty twenty five.
And wherever you are, y'all, be cool, stay, get some ac,
drink some water. Check on the elderly. Okay, be safe
out there. We are talking with the folks from ask
Me Local seventeen to thirty three.

Speaker 2 (47:50):
My guy Maris fivey is here.

Speaker 9 (47:53):
We're talking about what that union is if you don't know,
and Mari's we know the sanitation workers.

Speaker 2 (48:02):
I know that's a big thing. But also again you
represent the deputy jailer.

Speaker 10 (48:06):
Yes, ma'am. Debuty jailers ain't correction officers located at the electoral.

Speaker 2 (48:10):
Oh yeah, corrections okay, okay.

Speaker 6 (48:12):
So they're definitely very very critical, very very important part
of our union because in the unfortunate situation that you
find yourself, you know, temporary and incarcerated are detained. You
want the highest trained, most professional people down there. And
the issue about the new jail and all that stuff
is coming up. But I have the chapter chairperson, miss

(48:34):
miss Choke Key Sparker and her chapter secretary of Missus
Jeffrey Willhighte. They're going to give you some insight about
what's going on. And we still can talk about sanitation.

Speaker 2 (48:43):
Welln't talk about all that, but that story.

Speaker 10 (48:46):
You have to know what's going on down at two.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
To one because we hear all these stories. Yes, ma'am, okay,
I love it.

Speaker 6 (48:53):
Yeah, okay, So without further ado, the chapter chairperson, good afternoon.

Speaker 20 (48:59):
My name is Choke Park. I've been with you have
a count of Sheriff Office Jail Division for sixteen years
coming to August eighteen.

Speaker 5 (49:05):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
Wow wow, I mean it's Parking, been been there thousand nine.

Speaker 11 (49:09):
I I know.

Speaker 9 (49:10):
I well, I'm trying to get make sure my my
question is right because we hear so much negativity. Now
what the hell's going on down here?

Speaker 20 (49:21):
First and foremost, we are severely sure staff. And it's
just like with anything, you can bake a cake if
you don't have a other correct. So they mean it's
some some kind of way they cake is not gonna
be baked to perfection.

Speaker 5 (49:31):
Uh huh.

Speaker 20 (49:33):
Just with everything and anything. You have officers that's been
there since nineteen nineties and now it's two thousand and
twenty five. It's time for them to go. We have
a lot of people that's up for retirement MM and
we're at the we're at the point now where we're recruiting. Okay,
So we need any those people that want a job,
that want a profession. And what we do is deper

(49:53):
to jailer's come fill those applications out and come on down.
You get a sign on bonus five thousand dollars. We
just negotiated we're higher night with the sheriff and the
counter commissioners to allow us to top out there three
years instead of five years. So instead of wait for
five years to get their top out of it, I
had to wait for it. Now it's just three okay.
So we're trying to put some things in place so
they can want to come and do the job, okay,

(50:16):
because it's not we don't have an easy job. It's
not easy.

Speaker 2 (50:19):
You don't have easy.

Speaker 20 (50:19):
If you put your mind to it, you can do anything.

Speaker 5 (50:21):
But right.

Speaker 2 (50:25):
I get it to ok So you're saying now that
you all don't have enough deputy jail.

Speaker 20 (50:30):
We do not for the e mail facility or the
male facility.

Speaker 10 (50:35):
Yeah, I think last time we came here, like it
was twenty twenty three or twenty twenty four. Yeah, yeah,
it was like three hundred and eighty six staff members. Short.

Speaker 20 (50:44):
Now we have been getting classes in okay, but it's
still not enough, okay, because you still have inmates coming in,
and those numbers for those inmates, they don't really go down.
So you have a ratio you have. Let's say we're
just gonna throw a number out there. You got ninety inmates.
You probably have two officers. We probably might need sixteen. Yes,
So that's where we are.

Speaker 2 (51:04):
So someone would say, chow keys, that would ask you,
and I hope you be truthful.

Speaker 11 (51:10):
I am.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
It's a dangerous job.

Speaker 20 (51:13):
It can be. It can be, but we have things
in place for you to actually do if you do
your job like you're supposed.

Speaker 5 (51:19):
To do your job.

Speaker 20 (51:20):
I'm not gonna say things are not gonna happen. You're
not gonna see things that you've never seen before. But
I've been there sixteen years and I can't tell you
anything that's happened to me, Okay that it's worth talking about. Hey, well,
no trauma or anything like that.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
Yeah, for theently sixteen years, and you're still there. Right.

Speaker 20 (51:36):
It has a lot to do with the pay. Okay,
what you said, you asked me to be It has
something to do with the pay. And like I just
told you, it's not a job for everybody, right, It's
like surgeon. Everybody can't cut on people people.

Speaker 2 (51:49):
I don't want everybody.

Speaker 10 (51:51):
I don't want everybody to cut on mechanic doing no
no no no, no no no.

Speaker 20 (51:56):
But you just have to get in that mindset. On
the news this morning, you've probably seen somebody got shot.
Well police bottom bottom in. We have to treat him
just like we had to sing the news. Okay, some
people can't. They can't do that. Some people can't.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
Okay, that's for us.

Speaker 20 (52:09):
It's every day. We're not there to judge. We want
you to have your meals, your meds. We want you
to go to court. That's our job.

Speaker 2 (52:15):
Say that again. The three things.

Speaker 20 (52:17):
Want you to have your meals, have your meals, want
you to go to court, want you go to court.
And your mess if you take me because a lot
of people come in and they don't take their mess.
Once they get to the jail, they do. The jail
provides a lot of things for them.

Speaker 2 (52:29):
You know, we don't know about, don't right.

Speaker 11 (52:32):
They do?

Speaker 2 (52:33):
Wow?

Speaker 9 (52:34):
And and so now is an opportunity for someone if
they're serious and want a career job.

Speaker 20 (52:43):
Yes, deputy jailer, Yes, come to shell be sure dot
org deputy jailers. That's for downtown and for the UH
Jail East facility for females. We need them bad.

Speaker 2 (52:58):
Yeah, and and and and with with and I get
and I and she said that earlier, Maurice. It's a
pay and not a lot of jobs people are now,
and especially these young folks, they don't want to work.

Speaker 20 (53:13):
They don't. But we get health benefits, you get some insurance.
We do have a retirement plan.

Speaker 2 (53:18):
Okay, so you all have a retirement now, So how
long you have to work before you can retire?

Speaker 20 (53:24):
I am twenty five years and now okay, how we
do still.

Speaker 10 (53:28):
Be a young person too, so okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 20 (53:30):
We do have Plan D. Plan D make insurance that
when you get the retirement age fifty five fifty five
you can retire.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
Oh yeah, lord, that's a good age to retire. Okay.

Speaker 20 (53:44):
So you say we got some things we look forward to.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
Okay, come on down and learn his job.

Speaker 20 (53:48):
You can grow, you can go and up and rank.
You can be a side, you can be a chief lieutenant, whatever.

Speaker 2 (53:52):
You want to do.

Speaker 10 (53:53):
But not not union. I mean.

Speaker 20 (53:56):
We still we still need them in there.

Speaker 6 (53:58):
Yeah, right, but we want the people who understand the union,
understand the MO, you understand the CBA and things of nature,
uh to become you know, parts of management supervisor because
they have that respect and they came from the union.
They saw everything they need to see and learned everything
from them. Now they transition over into management and they
do make the better supervisors. It's the one that jumping

(54:21):
I don't need a union on it. And then they
go and be a supervisor manager and turn around want
to dog the people out there they just were part of.

Speaker 9 (54:27):
Okay, Okay, we are talking with the folks from Ask
Me Local seventeen thirty three.

Speaker 2 (54:33):
If you have a question here, Maurice is here, Joe
Keith Parker is here. Jeffy will hide. Jeffy, you're gonna
say something.

Speaker 21 (54:45):
I'm gonna count a little one of the wilds if
by talking.

Speaker 2 (54:47):
With the Okay, but I want to let you talk
a lot.

Speaker 22 (54:51):
As my chapter chap person say, I'm like to tell
everybody I've been at twenty seven years.

Speaker 2 (54:56):
Wow.

Speaker 21 (54:56):
Yeah, she said, mainly for the money.

Speaker 22 (54:59):
But this is a job at UH, it's career and
the UH provided me a lot of things to get
and do because of the job. And everybody keeps saying
it's dang, it's a dangerous job. But if you do,
like you said, follow a polic decision, dude, you're supposed
to do. You you come and you go as you can,

(55:20):
and it's got a lot of benefits. And like I said,
right now the union has done.

Speaker 21 (55:26):
We got a good mo o u uh.

Speaker 22 (55:28):
The sheriff had worked with us to get this to
move forwards, so we can recruit good people, professional people,
because this is a job, I mean, career job. Once
you get there, and you can uh put it like
this here start up a five figure but you can
make six figures easily.

Speaker 21 (55:45):
Wow and uh and and won't stress yourself out if you.

Speaker 12 (55:48):
Do it, do it right.

Speaker 21 (55:48):
You have six figures job and you a well.

Speaker 22 (55:51):
Benefit job because we have a lot of folks come
get the experience and they can get hired almost all
anywhere in the country. And then cause of the spirits
of what Shaver count only have provided. Because we want
to do for a minute, we wanted the best jail
in the country. So we are working tough to get
back to that, okay, and we are dedicated sheriff right
now trying to get us back where we used to be.

(56:13):
But we need people coming to put in apply for
the job.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
It's not hard.

Speaker 21 (56:18):
It's more mental than physical. You can think, you can
talk real good. It's the best job for you.

Speaker 2 (56:23):
I like it.

Speaker 10 (56:24):
I like it.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
Oh, I hope you feel better. Feel better. My reason
I wanted to ask this question because you had said
it earlier when we talk about different jailers. You said,
this is not about the jail, but is it? Because
we hear so many negative things. I mean, they want
a new jail because this is broken, this is not working,
this is not working.

Speaker 6 (56:45):
But so how does that Well, just say you went
out and bought a car that was made in nineteen
eighty two. Okay, you're gonna have some problems with it.
You're gonna be parts hard to find, so and so forth.
So the jail is built in like eighty one eighty two,
and so we're not talking out of overnight process. We
know for a city in a county this large, you're

(57:05):
gonna have to have an up to date, modern facility,
not only for the safety of our members, but for
the safety of your kinfolks and loved ones in the
like I say, in the in the situation they get
caught up in and maybe an overzealous cop, a cop
that want to stick they chest out and you you know,
your loved one finds themselves locked up at two A one.

(57:27):
You want that facility to be modern and safe and
clean and functioning because two to one is not just
a jail, it's a courthouse, it's a transition facility. It's
a lot of things going on down there, a lot
of moving parts, and so you want that thing to
be modern. And I'm not saying that they're not going
to go up on the taxes and so on and
so forth. But when you talk about something that's going

(57:48):
to last for the next thirty five forty years, you
know we have to start thinking that far ahead. And
it's not just so you know, we can have this big,
shiny building. You know, we know that you know, with
the poverty and things that nature, crime is going to
remain high. And they add all the degradation to poverty.
That's what makes people go out and commit crime. It's

(58:09):
not so much being poor. It's just that people want
to take everything from you, and you ain't really got thathing.
So that makes you want to, you know, go and
take and so on and so forth. That's a whole
noother conversation. But you know, in the event that you
find yourself incarcerated, you know, you want that facility to
be modern and functioning and safe, and so a lot

(58:30):
of the things that they're talking about on the news,
they don't talk about the bigger issue, which is you.
You basically are buying of nineteen eighty two model jail
every year, and so along with maintenance, we got to
start thinking ahead and start thinking about building a new facility.

Speaker 9 (58:47):
Okay, you know, okay, we are going to our phone
lines to talk with you. Thank you all for waiting.

Speaker 2 (58:54):
Any question you may have, sanitation, jail or whatever that
ask me Local seventeen thirty three. It represents you can
I'm going back to our phone lines to talk with you.
High caller, Yes.

Speaker 10 (59:11):
It is hey brand got one.

Speaker 5 (59:18):
Trying to get on my farmer.

Speaker 2 (59:23):
Turned down your radio down all the way down and
talk to us in your phone.

Speaker 23 (59:28):
I had your phones. I had your phone myself. A uh,
you got both my mends. I am a recent and
an agent.

Speaker 14 (59:39):
When I was there, now a c warden.

Speaker 23 (59:43):
Said he was gonna get the Brits there go so
security one thousand dollars a month to go along with
our SOB security. When Jim's strict goodn't guy in there,
he said he could put it in a budget.

Speaker 8 (59:58):
Put it the budget.

Speaker 5 (59:59):
But we then to work.

Speaker 23 (01:00:00):
I had of worked thirty three years and left them.
When I got out, I caught up with the rocks
that Mallo cane and in a shame for almightic god
like a client said, we should have been thered to
fish a long time ago. But you get these folks
in there. Oh uh, the one get him?

Speaker 15 (01:00:15):
He was one.

Speaker 23 (01:00:15):
I stayed with him all the time. It's a shame.
That was shright. He was trying to privatize. My maid
just looked cut to the public through I understand, gave it.
The trucks broke down. They got a few of people.
But at one time when they were trying to privatize
and gien and leading that guyage out there, they had
us in lead out the black neighborhood to go to

(01:00:36):
the white neighborhood. I went over there in the mid
time of the work. One day Jim Stricter said, a
cold or the United States flag in the yard. When
I got back to that bond, I told her that
soon if I said, if one not so had y'all
sitting us? And over time they jump strict and coat
and a segarette button and the leaf on the ground.
They said, don't send he back out there in the morrow.

Speaker 11 (01:00:58):
They a that.

Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
I that tell you.

Speaker 23 (01:01:00):
When I was there, I worked, I worked, and I'd
be presided with it. I did the big back good
work in the black neighborhood. I know they wasn't nobody
back that I was with it. And the pleas these streets.
I got on my phone right hit a pothole on
my clan.

Speaker 24 (01:01:15):
It's a food that would put a speed ump down
and that and nine holes on the street, steed ump
down in the street.

Speaker 25 (01:01:26):
Need be playing?

Speaker 23 (01:01:27):
Miss got the best uh whateceppid to put that in?

Speaker 10 (01:01:32):
Then they put they put the premium.

Speaker 23 (01:01:34):
Yeah, uh huh, they got the premium in the city.
And it's a shame of rubber kios. And it worked
safety years.

Speaker 10 (01:01:43):
Yes, that was nothing sixty years.

Speaker 23 (01:01:45):
And you got I wish, I wish I had no
im not cart here and here it's fast, I said,
all that person, I didn't tell me, but I get
asy a boy that the task. He was trying to
give us a thousand dollars to go out substitution. But
it's okay, But y'all, I love y'all age in my
research and you put me up and I say that

(01:02:07):
it was fat eighteen nineteen twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:02:11):
All right, thank you for calling.

Speaker 23 (01:02:14):
I'll get out because I can't back to to day.

Speaker 6 (01:02:18):
Oh okay, I'll call you back. I'm gonna call you
when I get off. Get off there. Yeah, but what
she was talking about is supplemental retirement. It was passed
in twenty fourteen, but they didn't fund it. And so
that's another thing that we gotta tell it supplemental retirement,
so that when each member of asked me that it
was social security retirement, we'll go home with the extra

(01:02:39):
twelve hundred dollars a month for like two years. If
they worked twenty five years of service and was at
least fifty nine years old, they would get the extra
twelve hundred dollars a month for two years. And no
mayor has every mayor has refused.

Speaker 10 (01:02:54):
To fund that. And so we bring it up right now,
camire Young. But it wasn't in this budget either, so and.

Speaker 6 (01:03:01):
They tried to do it, but they wanted us to
cut the legs away from under the people who had
already qualified for it. And they said, we're gonna start
funding for those who who will be eligible in ten years.
The thing was passed in twenty fourteen, you know, and
we're saying, no, go back and take care of the
people who are retired, who are still alive or they're

(01:03:22):
living next to ken, whether it be a spouse or
an oldest child, give them that money because people live there.

Speaker 11 (01:03:29):
You know.

Speaker 6 (01:03:30):
When many of us leave here, our bill stay and
our living relatives have to, you know, take care of
a lot of our business once we've moved on. And
that's what a lot of situation is. And when she
mentioned Reverend Cleill Smith, a sixty year employ died broke.

Speaker 2 (01:03:45):
When I hear that, I mean that's saddens.

Speaker 10 (01:03:48):
I mean, that's what we try to get the pension
and get a viable retire.

Speaker 2 (01:03:52):
He was walking with doctor King.

Speaker 6 (01:03:53):
Yes, got his head busted wide open, wow by the
Memphis Police Department, got a scar on his bottom of
his leg. He pulled his leg up where a German
shepherd almost ripped his skin off the bone. So all
these people who sit in these high places, now this
and deputy this and all this type of stuff for you. Look,

(01:04:14):
those doors was open for you by Memphis sanitation workers. Yes,
in nineteen six s eight there were four black people
working downtown and three of them had a broom in
the end. Now it's the other way around. All these
doors are open to you by men and women and
young children, high school age teenagers. Put it on the

(01:04:35):
line so that you can go into these places now
and be a clans Thomas. And that's a shame that
we have to deal with those type of Negro White
people are masters at picking out the sellouts amongst us,
and we're gonna have to do something about this because
these issues. We should ben stop talking about this stuff.

(01:04:55):
From nineteen six st eight to twenty twenty five we
having the same compass station.

Speaker 10 (01:05:01):
And it's a shame.

Speaker 2 (01:05:02):
It is a shame.

Speaker 6 (01:05:03):
All these spaces are feeled by well educated, well perfumed,
well dressed black people now, but when you win a
room with them, you think we're in a room with
the ku Klux clean. We can't hardly get nothing from them.

Speaker 2 (01:05:15):
Wow.

Speaker 10 (01:05:16):
Yeah, wow, So.

Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
Back to your phone.

Speaker 10 (01:05:18):
I like that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:19):
H you said it's a shame reason I must say,
it's a damn shock. Yeah.

Speaker 10 (01:05:22):
Okay, I know, I know.

Speaker 11 (01:05:30):
Hell.

Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
I'm old enough to say, hey, caller, Hi, caller, you
on the air.

Speaker 4 (01:05:38):
Can you hear me?

Speaker 10 (01:05:39):
Yes, ma'am?

Speaker 26 (01:05:40):
Hey, Okay, what I was calling is first idated three
one one app. I tried to go on the app,
but it's not it's not giving me tell me exactly.

Speaker 4 (01:05:50):
I have a Google I got three.

Speaker 10 (01:05:52):
One one Memphis. You have to put three one one
Memphis app.

Speaker 26 (01:05:58):
Okay, three Okay? It's something else gonna come up? Or
is it death of the Little Stars going around?

Speaker 10 (01:06:03):
And ah, let me let me pull mine up since
you bring it. No, it's no stars around it.

Speaker 6 (01:06:09):
It should be a blue background with white writing, and
it's gonna say call on one side and has a
little bit of writing Memphis on top in three one
one and big Bowl numbers.

Speaker 26 (01:06:20):
Okay, thanks?

Speaker 23 (01:06:21):
Okay.

Speaker 26 (01:06:21):
Another thing is Okay, my neighbor, when I tell you faithfully,
she's out on those streets every Saturday, and sometime I
help her, but she's out there every Saturday morning. Sunday morning,
she's picking we're picking up garbage in our community. Okay,
she calls about the tires. When they eventually pick the

(01:06:43):
tires up the same spot, they someone comes back and
dumped the same tis off. What can we do about that?
Because there is I mean, we're when I'm telling you,
I'm out there with her some some Saturday mornings doing it.
We're out there at sweating in the hot so trying
to get this, get our area cleaned up. But every

(01:07:03):
time they pick the tires up, somebody else come back
and they content they're using our areas to completely dump.

Speaker 6 (01:07:10):
Well, we're gonna use download the three one one app
and you want to do illegal dumping, and there are
some other things that cold enforcement gets involved. They place
cameras out there in secret, hidden places so they can
record these individuals. That is a crime. Illegal dumping is
a crime, and it brings down your property value. I

(01:07:32):
keep telling everybody when you talk about crime and you're
talking about you know sanitation, really those are the first
offers on your property value. We all know what happened
downtown with gentrification things that nature. So your neighborhood is
dirty and it's crime ridden. The people come in ten
years from now and by your house for ten cents
and your moming them house for ten cents on the dollar. So,

(01:07:52):
like I said, that's a whole nother conversation. But yes,
what you're talking about is a crime. It's black control.
You don't want to do a regular a somebody dumping
tires over here. You want to go into another area
of colde enforcement called black control, which now you're moving
into some legal or illegal actions that may be, you know,
going on with some of our citizens who are unresponsible.

(01:08:14):
But a lot of these places where you know, you
have a lot of people who run these tire shops.
They have nowhere else to put it, and it's kind
of expensive to take it to the landfill, but it's
absolutely free to come dump in front of your house.

Speaker 10 (01:08:25):
And then the city is responsible for it.

Speaker 6 (01:08:26):
But they actively go after those people and they charge
them properly or they shut them down.

Speaker 26 (01:08:33):
Okay, yeah, you know she did one Sunday morning, said
she found out it was a tire company doing it.
She said she just having to be out there one morning, okay, okay.
And another thing when I called the three one one
and like Hispanics are there and I say, can you
all put a cold enforcement note owner a door in Spanish?
They said they don't have one in Spanish.

Speaker 6 (01:08:55):
Yeah, yeah, yeah we have. We have bilingual people. Now
they may not be Now what are you talking about
on the door? You're talking about residential or commercial or.

Speaker 26 (01:09:05):
Resident residential because you know we.

Speaker 6 (01:09:07):
Called h They may be right because we had a
couple of them and you know what's going on with
this crazy presidence. Yeah yeah, so, uh, it may be
an issue and I'm definitely gonna bring it up with
the uh the new director of Cold Enforcement Public words code,

(01:09:27):
Miss Melanie Neil. She they just coined her like last
week or something like that. But I bring that up
that that needs to be a bilingual UH notification also
placed on some of these properties.

Speaker 2 (01:09:39):
Yeah what you say?

Speaker 15 (01:09:40):
Yeah, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 10 (01:09:45):
Let Miss Neil know about it. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:09:47):
W D I A w D I A high caller.

Speaker 8 (01:09:52):
Hi, I have a question about the illegal dumpling in
three one one. What do you do if you live
in a as of the Interior in Memphis, Tennessee, and
you have used three one one several times and report
situations that follow up under three one one guidelines.

Speaker 27 (01:10:12):
However, you have noticed the patterns that if the neighbor
who you're calling in on knows someone down there at
three one one, they don't do what they know what
they need to do according to the complaint, They just
sweep it on the road.

Speaker 6 (01:10:33):
I can't speak to the legal or the because some
of that stuff can get into legal and misdemeanor and
civil action without looking at the specifics. But most of
the time, men and women in codin Forsam, they are
highly professional. If they know somebody or someone like that
is coming out there showing them favoritism, we actually those

(01:10:54):
people removed. Because that has happened with some of our
people that know folks downtown. We actually people person be
temporary transferred and see if that alleviates the problem. But
most of the time, most of us know somebody that
work for the city. Instead of calling through on one,
we can call our cousin. They man swing by here
and picked this up for me, and uh, you know
that that's just sort of the nature of the business.

(01:11:16):
But other than that, if there's something of violation going on,
we can't encourage this from their action against our people
because we've got to sit there and represent them. But
we want you know, deliver the highest level of service
to you. And at the end of the day, we
try to get their person moved if they're doing something
for their kin folks and they're not doing.

Speaker 5 (01:11:34):
It for you.

Speaker 8 (01:11:36):
Right, Okay, okay, thank you so much.

Speaker 5 (01:11:40):
You are so well.

Speaker 8 (01:11:42):
Woman's bell and you too.

Speaker 2 (01:11:43):
Bye bye w D I a hi caller.

Speaker 10 (01:11:51):
Hello, getting ready?

Speaker 1 (01:11:53):
Bill? Yeah, hey Bill, real quick. That's my reason.

Speaker 10 (01:11:59):
Up in there, man, my reason.

Speaker 1 (01:12:01):
Let me say something real quick. You know, I ain't
shamed or nothing to do. And you know, thirty five
years ago I was downtown. You know they was popping
them those then now I understood not too long ago
they was spending what six six million dollars trying to
get the doors fixed, which you know it makes sitting
around all day long. Ain't got nothing to do. Their
figure got something going on. And it's the last comment

(01:12:23):
I'm gonna say. People, Well, I'm gonna I want you
down there to hang up. But people want to know.

Speaker 5 (01:12:28):
I know.

Speaker 1 (01:12:28):
She says it's a five thousand dollars, five thousand dollars
signing bonus, and the guy say, you can make six
figures in uh what four five years? What is the
starting salary of when you start off and what what
does it top out of it? And let me let

(01:12:48):
me say this real quick, and I'm gone, it's a
crying shame that the president of the United States, a
guy got thirty four failings and he can be the
president of the United States. But they won't get eat.
I'm gonna tell you something may reason real quick, and
they'll tell you they have know me personally. You know
when when I got out, I went to truck gramn school,

(01:13:11):
got my CDL, worked for a couple of jobs, then
I got my own trucks. I'm talking about I'll make
it six cities what probably twenty years ago. But you know,
I just think it's crazy to have if you got
like a non vialent felling or something like that, because
y'all say, what you need what three hundred people at
the jail, three four five hundred sundation workers. Y'all need

(01:13:31):
to get some of these guys a chance out of here,
because if you know, won't no matter have what what
they gonna do.

Speaker 6 (01:13:37):
Well, No, we may have a second chance program that
me and women who work uh in some of the
street maintenance, asphalt and misanitation workers. Uh these yeah, guys
who got a background, but they're able to go through
Second Chance and they're able to qualify for these physicians.
And I don't think that's the case at the dibuty.

(01:14:00):
I think you got to be squeaky clean, but you
can make six figures as a Chevy Kenny different jailer
within a very short period of time after you completed
everything to qualify to get get on board it.

Speaker 1 (01:14:14):
Well, I can tell you from personal experience, our four
flow deep part, a lot of them debble the jailers
down there. One squeaky clean, but you know it is
what it is. But you know, I'm our community on
their second chance program. Man. But you know, I just
think a lot of these guys want to work, and
they won't give him a teen Like I said, you
know the president got thirty four felass. You be the

(01:14:35):
guy with one feeling there and you know you won't
give him a chance, man, and get a job, make
a decent living, and you know, feed it something. Hey man,
you're doing a fantastic job. Hey Beale Johnson, don't forget down.
The word of to day is crab league.

Speaker 6 (01:14:51):
Yeah, but we we negotiated through Second Chance that we
have sixteen positions through public works and side of ways
that you can have go through second chance and get
qualified for those positions. And those are career positions. Okay,
good high paying. So I'm gonna go up to forty
dollars an hour. Yeah, so, yes, ma'am.

Speaker 2 (01:15:09):
Okay, hold on, callers, we're gonna get to you.

Speaker 9 (01:15:12):
Take a break as we continue to talk with our
folks from Ask Me Local seventeen thirty three. If you
have a question or two for them, five three five
nine three four two is our number eight hundred and
five zero three nine three four two eight three three
five three five nine three four to two will get

(01:15:33):
you in to us.

Speaker 2 (01:15:35):
You're listening to dou W d i A.

Speaker 10 (01:15:39):
Don't go away. The Bev Johnson Chow returns after these messages.

Speaker 2 (01:15:44):
The Bev Josy Show. You're listening to the Bev Johnson Show.

Speaker 10 (01:16:26):
Here's Bev Johnson.

Speaker 9 (01:16:28):
And we're talking with the folks from Ask Me Local
seventeen thirty three. Doctor King's Union, going back to our
phone lines to talk with you.

Speaker 2 (01:16:37):
Thank you for waiting callers.

Speaker 4 (01:16:38):
Hi Paula, Yes, Hi, Bev.

Speaker 18 (01:16:42):
This is Carl of Seals from asthmy Local seventeen thirty three.
And I have been a correctional officer for twenty five years. Wow,
and I know a lot about HIV count of correctional center.

Speaker 2 (01:16:56):
Okay.

Speaker 18 (01:16:57):
And my biggest objective with both mayors and our sheriff
and for the next people that's running for sheriff, why
the biggest question I have for them is why aren't
the correctional facility up under the umbrella and the safety
of the sheriff. We're still up under we still ran

(01:17:18):
by the mayor, the county mayor, but we're a jail
in Shelby County and we're not up under the safety
and the umbrella of the sheriff. That's my biggest question
for the people who running for shriffs coming up in
the next campaign, why aren't we We're followed up asking
local seventeen thirty three, seventeen thirty three. Also, so the

(01:17:42):
sheriff needs to know that it's very important that the
correctional facility needs to be up under the safety of
the sheriff. That's one of the biggest questions. And you
have that jail right their prison, right in the heart
of yum with a private walkway with state inmates and

(01:18:05):
fed inmates. So the question is why is it the
coreational facility up under the unbol and the safety of
the sheriff.

Speaker 6 (01:18:13):
Thank you so much for that question, Carla, And she's
also our secretary treasurer of Asking Logus seventeen thirty three,
don't forget to leave that out and does a tremendous
job under some very very tough conditions, both on job
and for the union. We have the unique position as
Asking Union members. We also get to vote for our bosses,

(01:18:34):
and we have a candidate selection process, and that is
one of going to be one of the key issues,
pivotal questions that we pose to these potential Shelby County
commissioners and mayor and also the Shelby County Sheriff. The
next one, I know, Bonna's going out. I give Bona,

(01:18:54):
you know, a huge applause because he's made a lot
of good changes while he's been in off H. He's
a man that has kept his word primarily uh. But
going forward, the next share, if we have to understand
that these two classifications are basically doing the same thing,
there needs to be some equalization and pay. There also

(01:19:15):
needs to be some some priorities placed on our correctional
officers out at the Mautural Correctional Facility out of Sycamore View,
that they have been in the shadows for salon and
they have continually added more and more and more responsibilities
to them without adding to pay. And that's definitely gonna
be a central key issue in this next set of

(01:19:36):
candidate selection that we are going to go forth in
in the next couple of months. Thank you, Carlo, Thank
you Carla, Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:19:43):
By W.

Speaker 4 (01:19:45):
I love it, I love it T Good morning Johnson,
Good morning to your gifts.

Speaker 2 (01:19:50):
How are.

Speaker 4 (01:19:53):
Yes okay? The three to one one is the question
I have. Last year we called three one one to
put in a request for these coundomentiums with them coming
miniums on Winchester and Outland last year. So we have
not been able to call within two months because no
one have some phone. But when we were calling last year,

(01:20:16):
it's like several people called. We were being told that
what the request was put in, you can't make another request.
I mean it was constantly being told that each each
time somebody did put a request, you can only make
one request. Now it's a whole year later and his
kids going to school and know in that place, we
were trying to get the colding forces come in and
do something because it's hard. But there's eighteen wheelers in

(01:20:38):
there with the back rigs of eighteen whillis. There's trash,
there's people staying there, there's trucks, there's cars. It's just
so and it's gotten worse. So, uh, either the requests, Uh,
when we called, they're they're not coming out. They're not
doing anything the colding force. But when we do when
we did call, it was like, well, you can't put
another request in because there was one needs such day

(01:21:01):
or for the such day, well last week or whatever.

Speaker 11 (01:21:03):
So now, yeah, that's my race.

Speaker 6 (01:21:05):
Have you ever heard that before? Requests can't put in
another one? Well, if it's an active request, yeah, they don't.
Until they close it out, you cannot, you know.

Speaker 11 (01:21:15):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (01:21:15):
And so that that's telling me two things. That's an active,
ongoing request that hadn't been fully completed yet, and there
may be some private versus public property issues that are
going to limit what cold enforcement can do and what
sanitation can do. We can't we do not service apartments

(01:21:38):
or condominiums. And if it's a vagrancy issue, especially with
how people become residents and things of that nature. If
you get mailed there for two or three months or
something like that, it's like you got to go through
the whole eviction process.

Speaker 4 (01:21:52):
But no, these these are completely abandoned. There's no one
actually living. There is people there, but there are living there.

Speaker 2 (01:22:00):
Their closed.

Speaker 4 (01:22:03):
Their closed. They've been closed for twenty years and we
have been trying to fight between even when Taron Collins
was a district.

Speaker 6 (01:22:11):
OK, we're gonna I'm gonna call JB. Smiley when I
get off because that is the area he represents.

Speaker 4 (01:22:18):
Uh, mis condominium won out.

Speaker 2 (01:22:21):
I know exactly what you're talking about.

Speaker 6 (01:22:24):
The chairman of the city council involved, because until we
know about it, we don't know. And I will try
to look up the ticket and once we find out
exactly what's going on, you're definitely gonna see some positive results,
probably before the week is out.

Speaker 10 (01:22:39):
I love it, yew call next week. Next week is out?

Speaker 2 (01:22:42):
Yeah, Hi Corey, that afternoon.

Speaker 5 (01:22:46):
How are you well?

Speaker 11 (01:22:48):
Good? Accident until your guests?

Speaker 10 (01:22:50):
Hey, what's going on?

Speaker 11 (01:22:52):
My question is you I am I'm I mean, I'm transferred.
I'm the male man for four ninety nine South Hollyween
all right, old co Coda plant. Okay, Now right there
in that Ordough it disturbs me because the belt line
right in there is then bought up by Hispanic Decision

(01:23:15):
descendants that are developing, and they also have a group.
I mean, I don't care Jacob's letter. They're buying up
all the property. My wife Now I want to buy
vacing Loze, but you can't. Is there a fight where
you can go and see where or do they have
they on inside scoopis a never tell something what because

(01:23:38):
they're like to me, they're buying up that liberty bowl,
the belt line area and exclude you know what I'm
saying gentrification pretty much what I'm.

Speaker 6 (01:23:48):
Saying, I mean that that's sort of out of purview
what we do. But I mean you can go on
Shelby County website and they have property sales I think
Tuesday or Thursday on the steps so the SHEV.

Speaker 10 (01:24:03):
Kennedy building and Cary.

Speaker 9 (01:24:05):
I would I would suggest that you call my attorney
Ursa Woods, who does who is real estate and she
could tell you more. Okay, Corey, Yeah, call attorney Ursa
Wood five for one help, five for one help.

Speaker 2 (01:24:19):
Thank you, Corey. Hi, Maurice.

Speaker 19 (01:24:22):
Hey, Bell, how you doing.

Speaker 2 (01:24:23):
I'm hanging. I'm hanging, brother.

Speaker 19 (01:24:26):
I know that's right, Bill, How you doing?

Speaker 10 (01:24:29):
Good?

Speaker 1 (01:24:29):
Even to your guests too, Bill?

Speaker 10 (01:24:30):
Hey, what's going on?

Speaker 9 (01:24:31):
Man?

Speaker 11 (01:24:33):
All right?

Speaker 28 (01:24:33):
Hey, look, I will talk about that trash pick up.

Speaker 16 (01:24:36):
You know, I live over here in midtown.

Speaker 28 (01:24:38):
They're these big old white house, big big houses and
matches and stuff. And as soon as some folks put
something out on the curve, I don't care what it is.
You know, they clean their attic out, their basement out,
or you know, broke down clowners or couches or mattresses
or whatever. Will you blink your eye, it's gone. But
over in the Pope community, you know, North melp of

(01:24:59):
southber the box town, you know whatever. You know, this
stuff just constantly pile it up. And I know you
say you're short on equipment, we're short on people.

Speaker 19 (01:25:09):
I understand, we you know, we we It's just just the.

Speaker 18 (01:25:12):
Way it is.

Speaker 19 (01:25:13):
So I was just wondering if they if they could
now rotate you know.

Speaker 10 (01:25:18):
What's your what's your pickup date?

Speaker 11 (01:25:21):
What days?

Speaker 1 (01:25:21):
Your pickupdate is on Wednesdays?

Speaker 10 (01:25:24):
Yeah, Well, they use a bulk week.

Speaker 6 (01:25:28):
Uh service delivery model that we have been trying for
the last man five years to get them to come
up off of this book week, and book Week says
that over a ten day period they gonna get your
big heavy stuff up off the ground. Okay, if you
are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, you got like an eighty five

(01:25:50):
percent more chance of getting stuff picked up in front
of your house. And they put the Black community from Wednesday,
Stursay and Friday, and half of it is like split
on Wednesturs and Friday. So the later in the week,
the less chance you have of getting bulk week, I
mean bolk services picked up in front of your home.

Speaker 10 (01:26:07):
We have been.

Speaker 6 (01:26:10):
No, no b U l K bolk big heavy stuff
that you can't be getting it by hand. And we
have been fighting that since twenty eighteen. We told him
it was a band plan from the beginning. The city
won't come up off of it. But it is absolutely
racist in its practice because you are not providing the
same level of service to the poor black communities that

(01:26:33):
you are to the wider, more affluent communities.

Speaker 10 (01:26:36):
And we've been fighting on the head, yes, sir, yeah,
we've been fighting it ever since.

Speaker 28 (01:26:41):
Man, that's what and I heard you say going into
those business like going into the.

Speaker 1 (01:26:46):
Music with the klu Klux clan.

Speaker 10 (01:26:47):
Oh yeah, man, I mean well.

Speaker 17 (01:26:50):
I'm gonna tell you this, it ain't no light.

Speaker 1 (01:26:53):
It ain't no light too, so you know we might
have to fall back like Marlins King.

Speaker 2 (01:26:59):
Did you know?

Speaker 5 (01:27:00):
Right?

Speaker 28 (01:27:00):
The white folks get the piling up all around, and
how Someth'm gonna have to give?

Speaker 1 (01:27:05):
All right, brother Marie, thank you?

Speaker 2 (01:27:10):
W D I a hi caller?

Speaker 5 (01:27:14):
Hey, Bam, how you doing.

Speaker 2 (01:27:15):
I'm doing fabulous today? How are you?

Speaker 5 (01:27:18):
I'm good.

Speaker 8 (01:27:18):
I'm just getting in.

Speaker 5 (01:27:19):
I'm I'm the pretty much the ending of the show.
But I don't know what's the gentleman name you're getting.

Speaker 2 (01:27:26):
Marie Spivey and he's with what company? To ask me?
Local seventeen thirty three is Maurice always says Doctor King's Union.

Speaker 5 (01:27:37):
Okay, well, how are you?

Speaker 10 (01:27:39):
I'm doing? Well? What's your name again?

Speaker 5 (01:27:41):
I'm Brenda, Brenda. I just want to I don't know
exactly the whole come of the talk show, but today
I just want to bring in some statements that, uh,
I really feel bad with the way the things are
going in Memphis, and it's time out for all this
here that laying on things the trash pick up. I mean,

(01:28:04):
it's no excuse. If the money is there, get the
peoples in there, pay them to do the job.

Speaker 14 (01:28:10):
It's sad.

Speaker 5 (01:28:10):
I'm riding up and down the street Everspresident. I'm like,
I'm the deuce to have it coming down evers Press.
It's ridiculous how the streets are.

Speaker 8 (01:28:18):
It's sad.

Speaker 5 (01:28:19):
When you come coming down over near cass Stadia, they
had a contractor to come out and cut the sign
over there where the Arma their poet. They cut all
the brass down and left all the bags out of
all the way from Hay Street going around to then.

Speaker 19 (01:28:34):
That's ridiculous.

Speaker 5 (01:28:36):
Why we can't have our area clean as like at
in the Sheevic at Germantown keeps all this there. It's
not perfect out there, but over in the South Mester area,
it's ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (01:28:50):
Well, as you said, Brenda, you came in late and
Mari's and we had the President Adrian Rogers. They explained
their shortage of manpower.

Speaker 6 (01:28:59):
To yes, yes, ma'am man, and we're relaying on the trucks.
And when we were talking about relay, the crews to
go out at seven o'clock in the morning, they go
out and bust their behind us to get back at
ten thirty, so another crew can use the same truck
and to get try again. So we have a severe
equipment problem right now. It's being rectified as we speak.

(01:29:23):
But when we talk about the we're talking about the trash.
In twenty sixteen, they remove the trash truck from our compliment.
We have been fighting for ten years, going on ten
years to bring that trash truck back and these people
only concentrated on things on the ground outside the cart.

(01:29:43):
The city is absolutely refusing to bring that service back on.
And that is what we're talking about. The stuff that's
on the side of the cart that can be gotten
by hand. We don't have the manpowered equipment, and the
city is refusing to put that back into our comfort.

Speaker 2 (01:30:00):
But you did say, Adrian said earlier, Miss Brenda, Dad,
you have ordered some new trucks.

Speaker 6 (01:30:07):
That's the new trucks on the way. But the model,
the delivery model, is the problem. We have to have
that trash truck as part of our compliment. Without it,
we cannot keep up with the trash. If you notice
this twenty sixteen, Memphis has become a much dirtier city.
Once they took the trash truck away from us. That's
when you had a legal dumping in Blake. Before twenty sixteen,

(01:30:30):
it really wasn't a problem. Now it is out of control,
and we are sitting here begging these people to allow
the Memphis Sanitation workers to let us clean this city.

Speaker 5 (01:30:41):
Up, and they won't let it right And I hated
it and got to this point, and I mean, everybody's
in leadership here, remembers just got to step up and
come together and do this together as a team and
stop all this vickery. And I mean it's saying and
they taking this out of our memph I mean miphite
gas warm, but that we pay it, Yes, ma'am, I.

Speaker 10 (01:31:02):
Told you earlier.

Speaker 6 (01:31:03):
Also, if you weren't listening, this is also about destroying
the legacy of doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. And we
always try to keep that in the forefront of our
conversations because a lot of people downtown don't even know
their role in this white supremacist agenda. They just think
they're doing that job. But we know that they're trying

(01:31:23):
to destroy doctor King's legacy. If they could dig that
man up and kill them all over again, they would,
and we are part of that legacy. They will not
allow us to do our job. You don't see any
other government workers who don't have equipment except ask me.
Nobody is being done like us, and we know what
it's about. You have garbage men with no.

Speaker 2 (01:31:44):
Trucks in five right, yeah, thank you, thank you, Brenda.

Speaker 10 (01:31:53):
I want to go back to.

Speaker 6 (01:31:54):
An earlier colitis. Steve had some questions about the pay
at as a deputy. We've gotten that answer now we've
reached out to the I experts since so, okay, you
got that information.

Speaker 2 (01:32:06):
I got it.

Speaker 20 (01:32:07):
Starting off, the entry is twenty four dollars and three
leaving you with annually forty nine nine ninety nine dollars
for their first year you were in. Like I said,
we did the top our pay nowns for three years
instead of five years. Your top out at sixty three thousand.

Speaker 10 (01:32:22):
So as I said, this is regular. They ain't even overtime.

Speaker 20 (01:32:25):
Now okay, no, it's not over time. So we need them.

Speaker 6 (01:32:28):
And that's a good deputy jailing jail starting out at
almost fifty thousand dollars a year. So if you're sitting
on your mama couch and she complained about you now
putting the top on the orange juice. Come on and
get this and help us close these numbers up.

Speaker 9 (01:32:45):
All right, we're gonna get these last callers in here.
W d I a high caller? Hi calling on them?

Speaker 25 (01:32:53):
Yes, Bill, Yes, good morning to.

Speaker 2 (01:32:58):
You, Good afternoon. What's your call?

Speaker 10 (01:33:00):
Question?

Speaker 28 (01:33:01):
Goods?

Speaker 25 (01:33:02):
No, okay, I just wanted to say, mister Spivey, do
you remember mister ut Jones, Yes, okay. I was just
wanted to tell his family that he still thought about.

Speaker 5 (01:33:13):
To this day.

Speaker 10 (01:33:14):
Yes, ma'am. We still have some surviving members that Marshal
doctor King. Oh we do.

Speaker 6 (01:33:19):
Oh yeah, yeah, I think we got six of them
still surviving. But Reverend Cleo was the last one who
was still getting on the garbage truck. Now he died
as an active City of memphisis p He was still
on the doctor Bill, Yeah and so and died broke.
And that's that's a shame. And nobody should work sixty

(01:33:42):
years and don't have nothing, man, and so that is
what we're facing. That is what we're trying to prevent
in the future. I refuse on my watch as a
staff repev asking the local seventeen thirty three to allow
these men and women to go home without a pension
of the Bible retirement, where the city, with all of
this money around and account with all this money laying around,
is not contributing their fair share to make sure our

(01:34:05):
people can go home when they're young enough to enjoy
their retirement. There's no fun going home at seventy nine
and eighty years old. You probably got two or three
good months lefting you. It's no fun to retire that
late in life. You've worked all your life and go
home and may have two good years left in you,
and you don't get to enjoy your retirement. And that's
what we're trying to prevent. Let them go home when
they're young enough. They've done their time. You've done twenty

(01:34:27):
five or thirty years on the job. It's time for
you to go home to let the next generation come
in and earn that salary. But our people have to
stay on the job because they do not have a
Bible retire where they can afford to go home and
retire without going into poverty. And that's a shame that's
happening right now in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (01:34:45):
Thank you caller, and go on, ma'am.

Speaker 8 (01:34:49):
And you remember he was killed on the job.

Speaker 10 (01:34:52):
Well, you're saying you to be a ut he was
shot on the job. Oh, yes, I remember that. Yes, okay,
all right.

Speaker 9 (01:35:02):
Thank you caller, bye bye and hi, Frank, Hey, are
you doing doing well today?

Speaker 2 (01:35:09):
Frank yourself.

Speaker 1 (01:35:10):
That's good that I'm my name in tough. You know,
you got a real man on it, on that thing.

Speaker 16 (01:35:15):
He's putting it out there.

Speaker 1 (01:35:18):
He said, them them folks, you know who them folks are.
Their folks ain't letting them do Yeah.

Speaker 12 (01:35:25):
One thing about the truth is sefteen Street.

Speaker 29 (01:35:28):
Your mans ain't running on your chief, ain't running none.
It's them folks that's running the city. And when you
got them folks that don't care about that color, and
we got a big mess.

Speaker 1 (01:35:42):
I mean, but won't nobody bring it out? But brother, brother,
miss miss Johnson.

Speaker 14 (01:35:48):
Yes, sir, you you don't serious.

Speaker 1 (01:35:50):
That's all I did you some series. I really appreciate
how we do things and bring the right people and
and that need to be addressed.

Speaker 29 (01:35:59):
I hope everybody listen to what he's saying. This is
all biggest problem from the beginnings, them saying that won't let.

Speaker 19 (01:36:10):
Him get a garbage cluck.

Speaker 1 (01:36:11):
Now, come on, now, we got garbage. But we can't
get a garbage club. And we got billions. The man
just say, we got billions of dollars sitting around.

Speaker 23 (01:36:19):
And then we bring up billion there to the city
and we can't get no talk, and he pausing.

Speaker 8 (01:36:26):
All the people come.

Speaker 10 (01:36:27):
On now, yeah, like I much Reiggord plan.

Speaker 6 (01:36:31):
Understand that when you have high crime, when you have
black and when you have your trash not being picked up,
that's the first offer on your property. That is how
they get Big Mama in Big Papa's house for pennies
on the dollar. That's how they drive down your property values.
The amount of government spending that's going into your community
is absolutely tied to your property value. When you see

(01:36:54):
them pulling the fire departments and police precincts and libraries
out of your communities, this is part of him much bigger,
cohesive plan to gentrify your neighborhood. That's why we don't
have trucks. It's just as the legacy of Doctor King.
They don't want us cleaning up our communities for our people.
And I'm not talking about black people. I'm talking about
the people. We love our citizens. We are trying to

(01:37:17):
service you, but we cannot do it. I challenge each
and every last one of y'all. Go to a sanitation
facility and you will see men and women standing around
because they do not have equipment. Go to street maintenance.
They keep ordering the same garbage mix. We've been begging
for prime mixing, premium mix. If we're gonna do potholes,

(01:37:38):
that's do them right. And if we're not gonna do
them right, let's go to paving. We're tied of these
potholes knocking the front end of even our equipment off,
and you bush your tires, you bush your rim, and they, oh, well,
we can't do anything about it.

Speaker 10 (01:37:52):
Yes you can.

Speaker 6 (01:37:53):
We're behind closed doors talking about the very issues that
are kitchen table issues. We talk about them in negotiation
with these directors, with these administrators, and they are absolutely
refusing to do it the right way.

Speaker 10 (01:38:06):
We know how to do it the right way, and
they won't let us.

Speaker 2 (01:38:09):
And I promise this last call, last call, Klot.

Speaker 5 (01:38:13):
How are you, ma'am?

Speaker 15 (01:38:15):
Good morning, how are you, Doctor Johnson?

Speaker 2 (01:38:17):
I'm doing well in yourself.

Speaker 15 (01:38:19):
I'm blessed by the best. Another day in Kingdom building success.
I just want to say thank you to you and
to your guest today and your people that listen in
the air, because they're giving us some vital information that it.

Speaker 18 (01:38:34):
Is good for worldwide.

Speaker 15 (01:38:36):
Because we need the same thing here in that's and ours.
We need the same thing. My daughter's car, she told
up to I can't even name a thing of stuff
these potholes, I mean. And you go across the street
to the complexion protection of whatever. They got everything they need.

Speaker 9 (01:38:56):
Okay, I'm down, all right, Wow, you all have given
us a wealth of information. Let me start with the
sister over here ms choke Key's Parker and tell our
listeners last you need, we need.

Speaker 2 (01:39:12):
You need some folks work something. Some deputy jail isn't log.

Speaker 20 (01:39:16):
In, feel that application out come out. We need you,
we need We are in despiny to deputy jailers for
the jail East Facility and downtown.

Speaker 2 (01:39:28):
And again they're part of local ask me Local seventeen
thirty three. So you need them, huh, we need them.
Y'all got some good pay right, And once again, thank
you sister for being here. And I know, Jeffrey, I
hope you feel better. I know I'm keeping your voice good.

(01:39:50):
And and and as they say, my side piece, last
words you want to say to our listener.

Speaker 14 (01:39:58):
I want to.

Speaker 6 (01:39:59):
I want to thank my President, Adrian Rodgers, my vice president,
Vida West. I want to thank Joe Keeson. I want
to think we'll HiPE. I want to thank the men
and women that allow me to represent them as their
staff representative. It is a labor of love. I have sorely,
sorely enjoyed doing this, but they understand what I'm there
to do. I'm the pit bull of the union and
I don't play with nobody in this administration, neither on

(01:40:21):
of these administrations. When it comes to the things my
people should have had twenty years ago, and when they
talk about these pay raises, that stuff should have been
given to them twenty years ago. We had an opportunity
to give them a real pay raise this year, and
they missed it and they took the money back. But
we're gonna cross that bridge. But I thank you, bab
You know I love you. I love the people.

Speaker 2 (01:40:40):
The listeners, and tell our listeners again, local will ask
me Local seventeen thirty three who you all represent.

Speaker 6 (01:40:47):
We represent deputy jailer's correction officers. We've represented most of
the custodians and the LPNs at Regional one. We represent
our Memphis sanitation workers. We represent street mating and sue
and drain, cold enforcement. Oh shechevy Kenny schools. Yes, the
custodians and the cafeteria workers at Chevy Kenny Schools. So

(01:41:10):
we represent all these people, and so everything touches everything,
and we're so interconnected. You know, if I make a
meal for your child at school, and I come by
and I pick your garbage, and I'm still your garbage man,
but you are feeding my child, you know. And so
we're all interconnected. And if my brother or sister happens
to get incarcerated, I want them to be in the

(01:41:31):
best care. And when you go down to the med
the Regional one, that place is clean. You can eat
off the floor, and those are our people doing that,
and the grounds are immaculate and it's safe. Those are
our people. And you want those people to be highly
trained and motivated, highly paid. And it's just not a
job for our people. It is a label of love,
and we teach that from the union all just don't

(01:41:53):
come down here for a job of paycheck. Because doctor
King can come here for a job of paycheck. He
gave his all the myth sanitation workers open up every door.

Speaker 11 (01:42:01):
You no.

Speaker 6 (01:42:01):
Ten years later there was a school city strike with
the schools and police. All that was because of CENTENINIP
workers did to ten years earlier. But all of these
legacies that we have to uphold big shoulders, and I'm
proud to be the staff representative for the men and
women of Asking Local seventeen thirty three, Doctor King Junion.

Speaker 10 (01:42:20):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (01:42:21):
Bell I love it.

Speaker 5 (01:42:22):
I love it.

Speaker 2 (01:42:22):
Thank you all for being here. And y'all welcome anytime.

Speaker 6 (01:42:26):
Yes, ma'am, thank you so much. And listeners, hey man,
we love y'all. We're trying to service y'all.

Speaker 2 (01:42:30):
All right. I want to thank you callers.

Speaker 9 (01:42:37):
I want to thank you listeners for joining us this
day on the Bev Johnson Show.

Speaker 2 (01:42:41):
We do, we really do appreciate you.

Speaker 9 (01:42:46):
So until tomorrow, please be safe, keep a cool head, y'all,
don't let anyone steal your joy. Until tomorrow, I'm Bev Johnson,
and y'all keep the faith.

Speaker 19 (01:43:03):
The views and opinions discussed on The Bev Johnson Show
are that of the hosts and callers and not those
of the staff and sponsors of w d I A