BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Despite a nationwide job shortage in various industries, expect there to be enough snow plow drivers for this winter season in Western New York.
"We typically face this time of year we get...about five to eight openings with our plow truck drivers," Erie County Public Works Commissioner Bill Geary told WBEN. "We're currently sitting at about five right now. We don't anticipate having a problem filling those."
Erie County plow drivers take care of more than 600 miles of roads along with local towns.
A spokesman for the City of Buffalo told WBEN there is no issues with a driver shortage.
While we have been spared locally, other cities in the nation have not been as lucky. Milwaukee city officials said they have 80 vacancies, roughly four times the number they typically have. Part of the reason for the high vacancies is due to the pandemic and because of a lack of competitive pay.
Though there is not a concern about staffing this winter, Geary said things could change at any moment.
"Especially seeing how creative some of these employers are getting with sign-on bonuses," he said. "That's something we don't offer at the county. Pay scales might be higher now, especially in the fast food industries and some of the bars and restaurants. We can't just go up in our salaries that quickly. We have CBAs we have to work within and the legislature that has to approve it. If we have to do something rather quickly, it's going to be tough for us."
The ongoing supply chain crisis may have a negative impact to the county if there are replacement parts needed for the plows and dump trucks.
"We have 45 frontline plow trucks," Geary said. "Typically if one part breaks, we're going to see that sometime through the fleet. Fortunately though, we've been able to replenish our equipment and we've got newer equipment, so hopefully that stuff doesn't break."
The New York State Department of Transportation is looking for additional plow drivers this winter.
"We typically staff up during the winter," NYSDOT Chief of Staff Todd Westhuis said. "We hire temporary snow and ice operators to make sure we can keep all the plows active and engaged throughout an event. That has not been a problem for us as far as getting folks in the door and getting them trained. We'll be ready for the winter when it comes."
