Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Worker Wins, brought to you by your local labor union

Workers everywhere are standing up, speaking out and fighting for better wages and working conditions. In the past month alone, workers scored a number of community and organizing victories.

Our brothers and sisters at the AFL-CIO are now spreading the good news with 'Worker Wins' updates. They shared some good Teamster news. For example,
Facebook Bus Drivers Organize in San Francisco: Over eighty bus drivers employed by Facebook voted to organize as part of a growing effort in Silicon Valley’s tech sector to win better wages and benefits for low wage workers.
And this:
Boston Parking Attendants Look to Expand Organizing Efforts: Parking attendants in Boston are working to organize approximately 1,600 workers in the Boston area in an attempt to improve working conditions and substandard pay. Parking workers have won contracts with five parking companies in the Boston area over the last two years, and aim to organize at least three additional companies in the area.
Here are a few other recent Teamster wins:
Teamsters Win 3rd FedEx Freight Election “Like the drivers in Philadelphia and in South Brunswick, N.J., who voted to join the Teamsters, the workers in Charlotte want to be treated fairly and they want to have consistent, fair work rules,” said Steve Bess, President of Teamsters Local 71 in Charlotte.   
Teamsters At Las Vegas Hotel Ratify First Contract  The workers ratified their five-year contract by a vote of 23 to 3 on December 8, 2014. The group includes warehouse workers, groundskeepers and valets. The Cromwell, the only boutique hotel on the Strip, was built as the Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino and was later know as Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon.
Franklin Park Public Works Employees Ratify First Teamsters Contract  Public works employees in the Village of Franklin Park, Ill., ratified their first Teamsters contract after unanimously voting to join the Teamsters. 
First Student School Bus Workers Vote To Join Teamsters Local 653 School bus workers at the Abington, Mass., First Student yard have voted overwhelmingly, 38-8, in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 653 in South Easton, Mass. The group of 60 drivers and monitors transport children in the Rockland, Holbrook and Weymouth school districts.
Then of course these:
Walmart Workers Stage Nationwide Black Friday Protests: Walmart workers were joined by unions and community allies in staging approximately 1,600 protests against the corporation’s low wages and hostile work environments on Black Friday. This is the third year in a row that workers have staged Black Friday protests, with this year’s being the biggest yet.
Workers Fight for $15: Workers in a diverse set of sectors, from airline workers to retail employees, joined fast food workers in a nationwide strike across 190 cities. Workers spoke out for a $15 minimum wage and the right to organize for better working conditions and workplace fairness.
Boston Bike Share Workers Vote to Unionize: Employees of Hubway, a Boston-based bike share company, voted overwhelmingly to join Transport Workers Union Local 100. The workers, including mechanics, technicians, and dispatchers, are part of a national campaign to organize bike share workers.
UAW certified to represent VW workers in Tennessee An accounting firm has certified that the UAW represents more than 45% of Volkswagen workers, giving the union the ability to meet with the automaker's management on a regular basis. 
Pretty good looking list, eh?