MINNEAPOLIS — An ongoing strike involving Minneapolis Park Board workers is slowing down storm cleanup efforts across the city.
The Park and Recreation Board is responsible for maintaining all city-owned trees, and that includes removing downed trees and limbs after storms. But with more than 70% of city arborists currently on strike over their contract, a delay in the cleanup is unavoidable.
According to a spokesperson for the Park Board, there have been 133 tree-related calls to forestry since Sunday. As of Monday morning, 49 service requests had been completed.
"The overall cleanup for this may be slower due to the strike," said Robin Smothers, spokesperson for the Park Board. "But the initial situational awareness, opening of streets and cleanup is underway. The work will get done."
When a tree in the boulevard across the street came knocking Saturday night, Kim Anderson was grateful she wasn't there to answer it.
"It looked like it was pretty violent," said Anderson, who awoke to text messages and photos on Sunday, showing the sidewalk teetering on top of the massive roots of a tree, and he home buried under its fallen canopy.
"The branches of the tree were touching almost up to the bottom of the roof on the deck," she said.
Fortunately, by the time she and her husband returned on Monday, the street was back open and her deck and home were in tact.
"Our fence is broken here and a slat in the fence there," Anderson said. "So not too much damage. My garden is a little torn up, but that can all be fixed."
As for the tree itself, now that it has been cut up and removed from the roadway, removal and disposal will likely take awhile.
"The parks board and, and public works have different roles in the effort," said Joe Paumen, Director of Transportation Maintenance and Repair for the Minneapolis Public Works.
Paumen says Minneapolis Public Works has been making progress clearing large trees and limbs that are blocking roadways.
"Most of that work is done," Paumen said. "With the exception of probably about nine (trees) that are either on top of cars or have power lines on top of them right now. Then we would look to our partners at Excel Energy to help us with, with those."
The Parks Board is responsible for disposing of those boulevard trees and tackling others that falll on park land and even on parking lots.
For arborists on strike, it's difficult knowing they aren't part of the effort right now.
"I miss this. I love my job and want to get back to work," said Nick Grebe, who is an arborist and on the bargaining committee for the union. "I volunteered to be on the bargaining committee because I know the value of our work and what it provides."
The arborists are among 300 park workers who went on strike on the Fourth of July. After negotiations stalled last week, bargaining resumed on Monday.
AJ Lange, business manager for the union, is a former arborist and says he worries about the understaffed cleanup effort in the meantime.
"It's a public safety issue," Lange said. "It's a safety issue for the workers who decided not to join us on the picket line because they become stretched thin. They're working longer hours, more overtime in hot muggy conditions."