It is sad to have so many of our “essential workers” complaining about their treatment as employees and the allegations of disrespect.The two years of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic should have taught us an important lesson. We learned that workers who are often taken for granted because their roles were viewed as not so important and that they could be easily replaced, are in fact, critical to the functioning of our society.The gas station attendants, the supermarket and mini-mart cashiers and merchandisers, our nurses, teachers and ambulance attendants, the custodians required to maintain schools and offices, police officers and other first responders, all work to ensure our society functions properly.Also high on that list are garbage collectors. When many of our citizens enjoyed the luxury of working from home or a hybrid work arrangement, and still enjoyed the security of full pay, our garbage men and women, as well as other essential workers, turned up for work and performed their duties as usual.The men and women who are employed by the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) to keep our streets clean will not tell you they are living their best lives in the job that they always dreamed of doing. They are doing dirty work with the accompanying hazards to their own health.