Pros
I have worked at Denver South for 5 years under several different district managers. Raises have been generous since Garrett Serrano took over the site - before he started in 2021, our driver team was underpaid (starting at $19/hr for a grueling 60hr work week), RM's were underpaid (starting at 65k for a grueling 70hr week) and overworked. Garrett pushed through a $4/hr raise for all drivers & helpers in Denver in 2021, and then pushed for raises for RM's and technicians at a later date; he also listened to RM's when we asked for our schedule to be adjusted to cut down on overall hours worked. Both my salary and my work/life balance have improved dramatically since working under Garrett in this role. Garrett is big on spending money on the people here, showing them appreciation with food, celebrations and prizes for going above and beyond. It's all about taking care of our people. I have never had to ask Garrett for a raise, and have gotten 1-2 every year since he has been here. I have been also been offered several options for promotion with his help, and is always open to helping me prepare for an interview and an introduction call to a hiring manager if I ask him. His leadership style is not for everyone and by no means am I saying he's perfect – he asks for a lot from you as he tries to help you mold into a better leader, but he also gives a lot. Most importantly to me, he has always listened to feedback and adjusted himself as needed to better support me and the team. It can be emotionally taxing, but I am a better person for it now at work and at home. Our driver team asks for a lot, but also gives a lot. You will work with people from all walks of life and experiences and it's a challenge to find the right way to talk to each one of them, but very rewarding when you find it.
Cons
Denver South is one part of the corporate WM model, albeit a very large part of that (we're a top 10 site in the company, in size and also profit). WM-corporate is always trying new things and strives to be leading the way with new technology and processes in the Waste/Refuse industry. Sometimes those changes are good, sometimes not so much, and I've been frustrated with some changes. Regardless of how good or bad the changes appear to be, it's the local site and RM's jobs to push them through and launch them to the driver group. However, I will also say that I have seen WM walk back some of those changes when they see they're not a good change; I'll always argue for a company that keeps trying new things, but is willing to admit when a change is bad (after giving it a fair chance) and steps back from it. A site of the size of Denver South can be overwhelming. There are over 200 employees managed by a group of 10 managers overall. The RM position is set as a 10hr day currently - once you know your role better and you work with your team to divvy up responsibilities, you can get those hours down closer to 8hr/days, but it takes awhile to familiar enough for it. Load fires or someone getting hurt are always an emergency and always a priority, and will lead to longer days, but that is not a regular work day or work week (it's been many months since i've seen one happen).
