Waste Management 2006 Annual Report Download - page 43

Employees
At December 31, 2006 we had approximately 48,000 full-time employees, of which approximately 7,600 were
employed in administrative and sales positions and the balance in operations. Approximately 12,500 of our
employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Financial Assurance and Insurance Obligations
Financial Assurance
Municipal and governmental waste service contracts generally require the contracting party to demonstrate
financial responsibility for their obligations under the contract. Financial assurance is also a requirement for
obtaining or retaining disposal site or transfer station operating permits. Various forms of financial assurance are
also required by regulatory agencies for estimated closure, post-closure and remedial obligations at many of our
landfills. In addition, certain of our tax-exempt borrowings require us to hold funds in trust for the repayment of our
interest and principal obligations.
We establish financial assurance in different ways including surety bonds, letters of credit, insurance policies,
trust and escrow agreements and financial guarantees. The instrument decision is based on several factors; most
importantly the jurisdiction, contractual requirements, market factors and availability of credit capacity. The
following table summarizes the various forms and dollar amounts (in millions) of financial assurance that we had
outstanding as of December 31, 2006:
Surety bonds:
Issued by consolidated subsidiary .................................. $ 326(a)
Issued by affiliated entities ....................................... 1,589(b)
Issued by third-party surety companies .............................. 772
Total surety bonds ............................................... 2,687
Letters of credit:
Revolving credit facility ......................................... 1,301(c)
LC and term loan agreements ..................................... 295(d)
Letter of credit facility .......................................... 346(e)
Other lines of credit ............................................ 75
Total letters of credit ............................................. 2,017
Insurance policies:
Issued by consolidated subsidiary .................................. 923(a)
Issued by affiliated entity ........................................ 13(b)
Total insurance policies ........................................... 936
Funded trust and escrow accounts .................................... 283(f)
Financial guarantees .............................................. 226(g)
Total financial assurance ........................................... $6,149
(a) We use surety bonds and insurance policies issued by a wholly-owned insurance subsidiary, National Guaranty
Insurance Company of Vermont, the sole business of which is to issue financial assurance to WMI and our
subsidiaries. National Guaranty Insurance Company is authorized to write up to approximately $1.3 billion in
surety bonds or insurance policies for our closure and post-closure requirements, waste collection contracts
and other business related obligations.
(b) We hold non-controlling financial interests in two entities that we use to obtain financial assurance. Our
contractual agreements with these entities do not specifically limit the amounts of surety bonds or insurance
that we may obtain, making our financial assurance under these agreements limited only by the guidelines and
restrictions of surety and insurance regulations.
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