Milwaukee residents, visitors could face delays in snow plowing this winter due to driver shortage

City of Milwaukee snowplows could be sitting idle this winter because of a shortage of drivers, extending the amount of time needed to clear the streets. 

"That scares the hell out of me ... that we may have trucks and no drivers," Ald. Robert Bauman said Wednesday at a meeting of the Common Council's Public Works Committee, which he chairs. 

Danielle Rodriguez, director of operations for the Department of Public Works, said the department is finding it "extremely challenging" to find workers to drive the trucks.

The nation has been facing a significant labor shortage, and workers with commercial drivers' licenses are in very high demand industrywide, Rodriguez said.

More:MPS hoped to get the National Guard to drive children to school. Now it plans to pay parents for drop-off and pickup.

More:Wisconsin economist believes labor shortage will persist and adds, 'It might get worse'

There are about 85 vacant positions between those workers to drive the plows and laborers who work on the trucks, she said. About 350 or 360 total positions are needed.

The department has some backup from temporary employees who help laborers on the trucks, she said. However, the temporary employees do not have commercial drivers' licenses and therefore cannot help with driving.

The department is looking at measures including salary adjustments and bonuses to draw workers. 

In recent weeks the department has hired and made offers to 10 new people for the positions that drive the snowplows, but the biggest challenge the department is facing is a lack of qualified candidates, she said.

"Obviously it's a problem that's more than just a problem for the City of Milwaukee," DPW Commissioner Jeff Polenske said, adding that it will take some time to correct. 

"We do have a challenge ahead of us — an immediate challenge," he said.

Although Rodriguez has contingency plans, she said snowplow operations should be expected to take longer.

The department has also lost an estimated five or six drivers due to the city's mandate that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, she said. The requirement went into effect Sept. 1 and employees have until Oct. 29 to provide proof of vaccination.

Rodriguez also said, though, that staff have been going to field offices to help employees upload vaccination information.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.