labor shortage

Chronic staffing shortages top of mind for Arlington County Sheriff candidates — with a side of pickleball

By Jo DeVoe
Jail entrance at the Arlington County Detention Facility (file photo)

The pickleball craze could be headed to the local jail next.

Acting Sheriff Jose Quiroz, who is one of three vying for the support of local Democrats in the primary this coming Tuesday, said that one amenity he would like to add to the jail is a pickleball court.

In an interview by Arlington Independent Media (AIM), he said the court is “something different” — in addition to the existing basketball court and weight-lifting area in the jail — that deputies and inmates could use. He sees the additional court as a way to improve deputy wellness.

He also intends to add a relaxation room in the jail for deputies and to have wellness conversations with staff, facilitated by local nonprofit Center for Youth and Family Advocacy.

Those two measures are intended to stop the office from bleeding burned-out staff, a pattern in Arlington reflected nationally that sources say appears to be worsening within the Sheriff’s Office, with some deputies actively planning their departures. Already, the vacancy rate stands around 7%, up from a little greater than 3% in 2019, according to the 2024 approved budget.

“Our staffing all around is low,” Quiroz said in the interview. “We have a lot of vacancies.”

He is running against Arlington County police officer James Herring and retired sheriff deputy Wanda Younger. Early voting ends tomorrow (Saturday), while polls open for the Democratic primary on Tuesday. Quiroz’s opponents say they also have ideas for addressing what they say are morale and retention issues in the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).

Herring says the issue stems from deputies being forced to work overtime. They will leave Arlington for jurisdictions with better schedules.

If elected, he intends to advocate for better pay and benefits and, with input from deputies, create more balanced schedules that provide career growth opportunities and mentorship.

“If you can’t hire people faster than people leave your agency, it doesn’t matter how good your recruiting is,” Herring told ARLnow. “Losing a veteran deputy means more than just losing a filled position. It means that you’re losing their years of experience, their ability to mentor younger deputies, and their established connections with those in custody and in the community.”

(Herring’s AIM interview was just posted online this morning.)

He recently picked up endorsements from Abby Raphael, a former Arlington School Board member who also served as an assistant prosecutor, and former independent County Board member John Vihstadt. Both praised his plans for also improving inmate wellbeing.

Younger suggests ending the Sheriff’s unilateral ability to hire and fire deputies without cause. She also suggests relying more on auxiliary deputies — trained civilian volunteers, certified by the state, who sometimes have military or law enforcement experience.

“Hiring is definitely an issue. Retention is a main problem as well,” Younger said in her conversation with AIM. “In order to ensure they remain, we have to increase morale. That’s one area I would focus on.”

Quiroz has the endorsement of several other current and former local and state elected officials, as well as his predecessor, Beth Arthur, who stepped down in January and appointed Quiroz as acting sheriff.

ACSO has tried to tackle the staffing crunch by appointing a sergeant to assist with recruiting — which resulted in more applications processed and a slightly faster hiring window — and budgeting $20,000 in the 2024 budget for recruiting.

The sheriff’s office serves warrants, runs the county jail and provides security at the courthouse, in addition to some other local law and traffic enforcement responsibilities. One impact of the shortages has been fewer deputies providing security in courtrooms and more civilian court security supervisors filling in.

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Arlington says it’s having trouble collecting trash due to labor shortage, hot weather

By Matt Blitz
Bagged brush and organics in the green bin, ahead of collection day (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington County is having more trash trouble.

Late last week, an email was sent to residents acknowledging that it’s been a “something of a challenge” in recent weeks for curbside pick-up of trash, recycling, and green organics. The note goes on to say that the job market, driver shortages, supply chain issues, and the “early record heat” are the main culprits.

“We’re now seeing a rising number of collection routes not being completed until the next day, particularly for green organics carts that are often the last serviced due to routing based on processing facility locations,” reads the email.

Like many jurisdictions, Arlington uses a contractor for trash pick-up. That contractor is American Disposal Services.

Peter Golkin, Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) spokesperson, tells ARLnow the problem started in April, coinciding with the annual increase in green-cart organics being put curbside for pick-up — as well as the start of warmer temperatures.

He couldn’t estimate when the issues might be resolved and says the issue is “largely beyond the control of Arlington County.” Golkin notes that such challenges are also being endured by other localities in the region. American Disposal Services is continuously looking to hire more employees, but it continues to be hard, he says.

“It’s hard to give an estimated time for improved conditions… The County’s contractor has raised wages several times in the past 18 months and pays well above the County mandated living wage of $17/hour,” Golkin wrote in an email. “It’s simply difficult right now — at any wage — to find people willing to work 10-hour days doing demanding physical labor outdoors in the region’s heat conditions.”

Overall, county crews service about 6,500 households a day that put out an average of three carts, said the email sent to residents. Meaning, there are about 20,000 carts that are in need of pick-up on a daily basis, which does not include bulk items or bags of yard debris and other organics.

“It’s demanding, exhausting work easily complicated by quickly arising factors like storms and equipment failures,” it reads.

The recent hot weather is also complicating the situation. More than $3,000 worth of sports drinks have been downed by crews recently, the county said, and supply chain issues are making it hard to find replacement parts when a truck breaks down.

“Until global supply chain issues begin to ease, we anticipate vehicle breakdowns will continue to hamper collection routes,” Golkin said.

Arlington has had other recent trash problems. Last month, residents complained of overflowing public trash bins in Pentagon City and Crystal City. That issue was mostly the result of increased seasonal tourism, the county said while pledging to fix the problem.

As for what residents can do to ease the trash collection backlog, the county is asking those impacted to remain patient, report missed trash service, be considerate about the number of items left curbside, and to remember that those working “aren’t in it for the glamor.”

The email also notes that Waste and Recycling Workers Week starts June 17.

“The people on the trucks can always use a friendly wave or even a note of thanks taped to a cart. They perform an absolutely essential service that is so easy to take for granted,” Golkin said. “Perhaps not anymore.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Construction continues at Ft. Myer Drive and Langston Blvd in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

School Bus Driver Shortage — From an Arlington Public Schools email to families: “Due to a shortage of bus drivers, APS will not be able to operate late buses this afternoon, Fri, April 22, or Mon, April 25. Transportation will not be provided for any scheduled late activities at schools today or Monday. Any scheduled athletic events with approved transportation prior to this announcement will take place as scheduled. APS will resume late bus service on Tue, April 26. We apologize for the inconvenience.” [Twitter]

Water Rescue Call Near Chain Bridge — “Water Rescue – #DCsBravest responded for the report of a person in the water in the vicinity of Chain Bridge Road NW. Upon arrival, adult male already safely removed to shore on VA side and is being transported by @dcfireems
with non-serious/non-life threatening injuries.” [Twitter]

Amazon Hiring ‘Banista’ — “Among the ‘Banista job functions? ‘Learn FAQ’s and banana facts to share with visitors.'” [Twitter, Arlington Employment Center]

PD, FD Help Make Birthday Special — From the Arlington County Police Department: “Happy Birthday, Sarah Elizabeth! Corporal Smithgall first met Sarah Elizabeth while working as a School Resource Officer and has maintained a relationship with her and her family ever since. When he heard she was celebrating a birthday, he enlisted the help of his patrol squad members and Arlington County Fire Department to make it special with a birthday parade, cake and balloons!” [Facebook, Twitter]

Homelessness Org Needs Bedding — “We have moved clients into permanent housing; please help us make it feel like a HOME. We need six bedding bundles.” [Twitter]

It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 75 and low of 54. Sunrise at 6:19 am and sunset at 7:56 pm. [Weather.gov]

Facing a shortage, APS hikes wages for substitute teachers

By Jo DeVoe

Facing a shortage of substitute teachers, Arlington Public Schools has raised its pay rates to attract more candidates.

Teachers have been struggling to find substitutes, leading them to come in on days they wanted to take off or to rely on co-workers willing to cover for them, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán and the Arlington Education Association.

“I personally know staff who’ve chosen to come to work instead of calling out because they knew substitute teachers were so scarce,” said teacher Josh Folb, representing AEA, during a School Board meeting on Thursday. “Unlike the Virtual Learning Program, where some found it acceptable for weeks to let kids sit with absolutely no teacher of any kind, the in-person burden falls on coworkers to double up or split classes, where less learning can occur.”

This is the third reported staffing shortage APS has faced this summer and fall.

Ahead of summer school, the school system had to dial back the number of eligible kids because there weren’t enough teachers willing to teach over the summer, a nationwide phenomenon attributed to pandemic-era burnout. For the first month of school, many students enrolled in the Virtual Learning Program did not have teachers — which APS also attributed to staff shortages — and were placed in waiting rooms with substitutes.

In response to substitute shortage, which is also playing out nationwide, APS increased rates of pay for substitute work, which is typically considered low-paying and inconsistent, and launched a bonus program encouraging substitutes to take on more sub jobs. The plan was presented last Thursday (Oct. 28) during a School Board meeting and went into effect on Monday.

New pay rates and bonuses for substitute teachers (via APS)

“We will now be the highest-paying in Northern Virginia for substitutes — the front runner — we were fourth or fifth,” Durán said on Thursday. “So we’re moving forward to do that to support our teachers ultimately and also our subs, who are coming in on a daily basis to provide that support when it’s needed. ”

School divisions in the U.S. are facing similar shortages and also offering perks and higher wages. Closer to home, D.C. is spending $40 million to hire contact tracers, substitute teachers and workers to handle COVID-19 logistics in the city’s public school system.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

It’s the End of Summers — The former Summers restaurant in Courthouse was torn down yesterday, making way for a new apartment development. Video of the demolition shows water being sprayed to control dust as the building was razed. [Twitter]

Staffing Concerns At 911 Dispatch Center — “The head of Arlington, Virginia’s Emergency Communications Center is addressing concerns that its current setup is problematic and even potentially dangerous. ‘We are like every other 911 center in the country, which has traditionally struggled with staffing,’ center administrator Dave Mulholland told WTOP. ‘We’re going to be very honest in acknowledging not every shift has optimal staffing.’ However, Mulholland maintains that crucial positions have always remained filled, and that more people are being trained to fill needed roles.” [WTOP]

Lebanese Taverna Helping to Feed Refugees — “When word came that thousands of Afghan refugees would be landing at Dulles in late August after their country fell to the Taliban, World Central Kitchen mobilized to make sure those reaching the U.S. after a harrowing journey would be greeted with a hot meal. The nonprofit’s first call was to Grace Abi-Najm Shea, one of five siblings behind Lebanese Taverna… Of the 61,298 meals WCK served there between Aug. 25 and Sept. 10, 5,037 came from Lebanese Taverna.” [Washington City Paper]

County Board May Modify Hotel Tax — “Arlington County is weighing whether to tax hotel guests for the total cost of their stay, including fees and other charges, and not just the cost of the room. The potential change to the transient occupancy tax — the revenue from which has collapsed amid the pandemic, affecting Arlington’s incentive arrangement with Amazon.com Inc. — follows changes to the tax definition in the state code adopted by the Virginia General Assembly.” [Washington Business Journal]

Much of Crystal City Is Now Carbon Neutral — “JBG SMITH, a leading owner and developer of high-quality, mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC market, today announced it has achieved carbon neutrality across its entire 16.1 million square foot operating portfolio. Building on this accomplishment, JBG SMITH intends for its properties to maintain carbon neutral operations annually.” [BusinessWire]

Tucker Rants About Beyer — Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson called Rep. Don Beyer “a fashionably radical car dealer from Arlington” on his show earlier this week, in a segment about vaccine mandates. But Beyer’s communications director says that the local congressman, who is actually an Alexandria resident, “does not own any auto dealerships and has not for years.” [Twitter]

Harris Teeter Stores Cutting Hours — “Harris Teeter stores nationwide will be reducing their store hours until further notice, citing the shortage of labor caused by the COVID-19 pandemic… Starting Wednesday, Sept. 15, all Harris Teeters will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Stores in Northern Virginia have previously been open 24 hours, or until 11 p.m.” [InsideNova]