Loyalty in the Workplace: Diamonds in the Rough

When Bob Nitti opened Nitti Sanitation in 1993, he had one truck and one driver—himself.

He also had 15 dumpsters and an aunt for a secretary.

Fast-forward to today, and you’ll find Nitti’s Sanitation with 65 employees and a diversified clientele of homebuilders, insurance companies and storm damage crews, flat roofers, a handful of roll-off accounts, and 15-20,000 residents serviced weekly.

Nitti knows the ins-and-outs of the industry after watching his dad run the same type of business. He’s also built his company on a strong foundation because he’s experienced every aspect of the job, from driver to decision maker.

A Leader Who Listens

“One of the philosophies I’ve changed in the last 3-4 years,” he said, “It’s sometimes—siting in my chair with 65 people—you feel like you have to be the smartest guy in the room. Or it’s gotta run through me. It’s gotta be my decision—which it does. In some ways, it always does. If something goes wrong, it’s my butt. They can always move on and get another job. But I can’t. This is me.

"So one of the ways I’ve changed in the last three years is to hire people who are as smart if not smarter than I am.”

The guy sitting before me looked tough. Not the guy to pick a fight with. Not the type to sugarcoat anything. So I think it takes a lot of humility—self-realization—to resist the natural pride we all have and be able to say that.

He continued. “And sometimes you have to pay more for that person, but I don’t feel everything has to be on my shoulders as much. I can lean on them. Although I make the final decision—not on everything—I try not to micro-manage. But if it’s something big, run it by me. Let’s talk about it. You try to find people who can help you grow this thing, and I think we’ve done a great job at that.

“In the last 3-4 years, we brought in Dave Domack. Extremely intelligent in this industry. He’s the sales manager, but he helps in a lot of ways—HR, computers, wherever we need help. John Croft—he does a lot of hiring and interviewing.”

Challenges

“What challenges do you face as a trash company?” I asked.

“We have to push to get contracts done. It means working weekends—not Sundays—but a lot of Saturdays. There’s a large lack of drivers in the market right now. We’re about five drivers short as we speak, so we’re looking to hire drivers,” Nitti said. Even competition is feeling the pinch.

“It comes down to this,” he said. “They start taking their management, maybe an operations manager, and he has to drive truck 3-4 days a week. It makes for turmoil in the office, and it makes for mistakes. Things don’t run as smoothly.”

Another challenge is being timely.

“With roofers, especially in the union, they’re paying these guys by the hour. We can’t be an hour late because it costs them so much with their guys on the site. We don’t want the roofers stockpiling or waiting, so we keep those containers empty. If they can keep moving ahead, the roofers make money.”

By focusing on what his clients want, Nitti knows it's a win-win for all. When they do well because of the prompt, efficient services that Nitti's crews provide, those clients will be sure to call back next time.

Clean-Ups

One of the reasons Nitti Sanitation and Lightning Disposal work so well is that Nitti keeps the work spread out, diversified with a variety of clients and services.

This includes city-wide Clean-Up days.

“We go down the streets, door-to-door and take everything that’s put out—problem items like TVs, computers, appliances, brush, construction project materials, wood. We do more than any other company in the Twin Cities—in Bloomington, Crystal, New Hope. We cover every street in the city.”

For other cities, like South St. Paul, Shoreview, New Brighton, Mounds View, and Apple Valley, Nitti sets up collection sites or stations. Residents then come to drop off their items.

“Some cities cover the cost of these stations, while in other cities, residents pay part of the cost. Then we have to dispose of it, and the cities subsidize it.”

“So where does all this junk end up?” 

“Construction debris goes to XKV Environmental in Rosemount or Dem-Con in Jordan, Minnesota. Trash in Washington or Ramsey counties goes to RT, a transfer station and incineration plant. Trash in Hennepin County goes to the Hertz plant in Minneapolis. Tires go to First State Tire Recycling in East Bethel. Everything gets sorted out, and everything finds a home.”

Hiring Practices

As we talked, I wanted to get to the real reason why I asked Nitti for an interview: I’d heard that he sometimes hires felons, which absolutely fascinates me when so many companies would shy away from such a practice. It doesn’t necessarily look good to hire ex-cons, and critics might wonder—if they went to prison once for a crime—drugs or theft—could they do it again?

“I have a couple guys who have felonies. I don’t think of them as ‘convicts’ though. I know what they were in prison for. Obviously if I brought in a guy who was a convicted murderer or rapist, I wouldn’t feel comfortable. But if it was a drug charge—it wasn’t right because obviously they were convicted—but I believe these guys should have a second chance.

“All I ask is that as long as you’re employed here, let’s behave… I don’t want that phone call that you’re not going to make it into work because you got into an altercation. Then I know it’s a pattern.”

“Yes,” I said, “they have to be able to make a living, too. Otherwise, they could go right back into that system if it’s the world they know.”

“Some of these guys have been with me for years. They’re diamonds in the rough. They just need a chance, a break to come out—and not just come out with a felony and I pay them a minimum wage to pick up garbage out of the ditch. They need that chance. If they can learn to drive truck, to weld, I’ll give them that grown-up wage, so they can raise a family.”

“And then their identity isn’t based on one mistake,” I said. “It’s not a permanent record of who they are.”

“Yeah, I hired a guy who had cut his teeth with my dad,” Nitti said. “This guy ended up going to prison on a drug charge in 1990. I’d started this business in ’93, and this guy came to me, told me what he’d done, and asked for a break, a second chance. He opened up about how many things he’d missed: his grandma’s funeral, his kids’ birthdays, his parents’ stuff. He said, ‘I missed so much that I’ll never go back.’ And he’s been with me for twelve years.

“We do drug testing here. There are no drugs, and he doesn’t drink. I know that I don’t have to worry about him.”

Building Loyalty

I told Nitti about the loyalty I’d heard with these guys—how I’d heard they’d take a bullet for him. And it's all about how he treats his employees, whether they've had a felony or not.

“We have to give people a second chance,” Nitti said. “I have another guy—Pete. If I had 15 drivers like him, then I’d be set.”

Pete got a call one day—a buddy getting out of jail on a drug charge.

“He was a Hell’s Angel. Tough. Big—6 foot, 1. 235 pounds, about as solid as could be, and tougher than nails. So I thought, ‘Well, this’ll be interesting. I’ll meet him and see how it goes.” Nitti hadn’t been sure if he should hire this guy (whom I’ll call Jack) after getting advice from his dad. “I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want no trouble.’

“But when Jack came in, he laid it out for me. He said, ‘I need a break. I did ten years, and I have a son.’ He told me a lot, and at the end, I looked at him, and I said, ‘If you turn out half as good as Pete has, I’ll be the happiest man in the world.’

“Jack looked at me and said, ‘You won’t worry about that. I’ll make sure you never regret this.’

“So we hired him on, and he got rolling. He was incredible. He was with me nine or ten years and then had a cancer scare. And he actually beat it. Next thing you know, he was back to work. But the cancer came back, and it spread… Last July, he was told he had to go on hospice, but Jack said, ‘No, I’m going to Sturgis.’ So Pete and Jack got a truck and trailer together and loaded their bikes.”

Nitti told me Pete had been a little nervous because Jack had lost so much weight and strength. “But he got out there and rode around like everybody else. And people knew him out there. He just wasn’t the same guy who’d gone to prison 20 years ago.

“But he was that guy who, when he was working here, looked at me and said, ‘Hey, you ever need anything…’ He would go to battle for me. He was a Hell’s Angel, and that’s a brotherhood. They’d do anything for each other. But he was here, and he would do anything for anybody here. Those that took care of him, he’d do anything for them.”

Jack passed away the first week of January 2020, and his memorial service was held February 22.

As a company, they honored his life.

I’ve talked with many business owners in different industries, and I haven’t seen this degree of loyalty, care, and deep respect within a company elsewhere.

When management like Nitti sees beyond a bad record and offers that chance, it can alter a life forever. For the one who's hired, it makes all the difference in the world. It’s no longer about watching the clock or making it till payday. Coworkers matter, and mutual respect grows. It becomes like family.

Fair Compensation

One of the driving factors for this close-knit company is how Nitti treats his employees over the long haul. With his crew, Nitti said, “I want to make sure they’re making the money they need to raise a family, afford houses, cars, enjoy life, too. I want them to want for more. I want them to want to be here and want to put the hours in so that they can do more. As much as they want to work, it’s here. We have the work.”

Of course, there are caps for how many hours a driver can be on the road. As Nitti told me, “There are different laws for out of state versus in-state drivers. Some drivers can work up to 60 hours per week in a 5-day week.”

“But the beauty of what I’m seeing is that you’re giving them a chance at a different life,” I said. “Different maybe than what some of them have ever known or grown up in.”

“Yes, we don’t pay different wages based on whether or not they have a felony. I say prove to me that you’re ready to go, and I’ll pay you more. It’s all about if they’re willing to work. They come in here, work hard, and do their thing.

“Everybody here has to justify their income—even myself. I have to know that I’m doing more than what I’m paying myself, so that I can say, ‘Hey, I know what I do, and what I do justifies what I pay myself. And I pay my guys first.”

“I grew up in a family business,” I said. “Locksmiths—and my dad’s like that. He always pays his employees before himself to make sure he’s doing right by his people. Yes, he’s making a profit, but he’s not taking advantage of others.”

“Right. My guys get paid weekly. Others pay every two weeks, and I understand that. It’s a company advantage because you can keep the cash flow. It’s less paperwork if you’re running it through payroll. But I didn’t like getting paid that way, so we’re going weekly. Every Friday morning, they can look in their bank account, and their paycheck is there.”

Nitti offers his employees lots of incentives, too. Reviews are held in the spring, and employees earn a pay raise to boost morale just before summer.

“If things are going well all year, we try to give bonuses at year’s end. We give big incentives for no accidents because the equipment is expensive. So bonuses are based on being accident-free and the length of time with the company, as well as their position in the company.

“We also have medical and a simple IRA plan with the company matching at 3% just for being involved. As of January, we want to be even more competitive with our benefits package. There’s a new medical coverage with Gold, Silver, and Bronze options. We also have Dental and Vision. That’s across the board. And some of these guys are making over six figures.

“The opportunities are there if they want it,” Nitti said. “Any one of these guys here—without being too crazy—could hit six figures.

A Well-Oiled Machine

Both Nitti Sanitation and Lightning Disposal run smoothly. Their drivers are efficient and timely, proving that details matter to management.

“Success is making sure your employees are happy and that you have enough employees that you can take care of what you’re doing. Making sure your clients are happy.”

Then he added, “You also have to be profitable to the point that you’re a good partner. If you’re living on the edge at all times—to the point that when one thing goes wrong, you think, ‘I’m in trouble,’ it’s important to make sure the employees are good (taken care of) and the clients are good. But there’s a margin there.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“That you’re making enough money so that if something goes wrong, you’re not out the back door. Especially as you get bigger. When you’re smaller, it’s a little easier due to the fact that—granted, you can make a mistake and you’re going to have to get help to get out, but now we’re at the point size-wise where it’s tough to get help.

“If we were to make a big mistake, the help would have to come in a large help. So you gotta keep a razor sharp mind and make sure all your ducks are in a row. You gotta have your thumb on the heartbeat of what’s going on.”

He listed some of the questions he asks to trouble-shoot problems:

-         What are the issues?

-         If it’s a client with an issue, what can we do to help?

-         What can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?

“We need to come together as a company and as managers ask, ‘Who’s going to be in charge of this phone call? And what are you going to do with it if it comes?’”

“So what’s the most challenging situation you’ve had?” I asked.

“Some clients believe, ‘You’re the trash company, the roll-off company. You’re the low man on the totem pole. You feel like they look at you like they’re better.

“And I deal with so much of the general public, too—15-20,000 residents. When you have that many, you’re always going to have something go wrong. Every day. But technology is incredible nowadays. They’ll call, but the truth is—they haven’t put their barrel out in time, and my guys have taken a picture.”

I laughed. “I’ll remember that the next time I forget to bring my barrel out before 7.”