DOT: Hiring 31 workers on Long Island to clear snow, ice

The state Department of Transportation on Long Island is looking to hire 31 entry level workers who are good drivers, can learn to operate various pieces of equipment — and can get behind the notion of pushing back on Mother Nature.

Given the upcoming season, these maintenance trainees will cut their teeth by clearing snow and ice delivered by winter storms, this after getting trained in the nuances of plowing and such. 

“Keeping our roads safe this winter is a top priority…and a dedicated workforce is front and center in these efforts,” said Paul A. Karas, acting DOT commissioner, in a news release announcing about 470 openings, statewide. “Our maintenance forces are the lifeblood of everything we do. . . .especially during snow and ice season.”

Long Island’s openings, seven of which are seasonal, with 24 permanent, are for the position of highway maintenance worker trainee 1, with a starting salary of $39,000, said Stephen Canzoneri, DOT spokesman, based in Hauppauge.

During the winter season, such workers engage in “snow and ice control activities” that can include “operating a single-blade plow or the wing plow,” as part of a two-person team, according to the job description.

As snowstorms aren’t inclined to arrive in accordance with people’s regular work schedules, applicants should know that during storms their work hours could shift. The idea, the release says, is “to ensure 24 hour a day, seven day a week snow and ice response.”

In all, the state employs about 3,900 full-time snow and ice operators and supervisors — with an estimated 300 seasonal operators —  who oversee or engage in pre-treating, plowing and removing ice from roadways.

The Long Island job also includes non-snow related maintenance crew work — such as flagging, picking up litter, other physical labor activity, as well as, once trained and certified, operating equipment.

To qualify, applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Pass a medical examination and drug test;
• Hold a valid class D driver’s license for New York State.

Also, the trainee has to have a commercial driver’s license permit within three months of being hired.

And, the job description says a trainee’s prime goal is to get heavy dump truck certification.

Learn more at: https://www.dot.ny.gov/jobs/perm_positions/highway-maintenance-worker