Whether it is organizing workers into a union, mobilizing member and public support for contract negotiations, or organizing around an important piece of legislation -- we want to know about your successes. Please share your hard work with us, and be sure to check in frequently to see how our movement is growing. Submit stories or ideas to John Drinkwater at .
Verizon Business Technicians with Senator John KerryOver 6,000 workers in the Greater Boston area joined unions since Labor Day in 2007, the largest number of new members in a single year in over two decades. Workers and labor leaders involved in successful organizing campaigns over the past year were honored for their efforts at the Greater Boston Labor Council's Labor Day Breakfast on September 1st, including technicians from Verizon Business, pictured to the left with Senator John Kerry.
On August 10, Verizon agreed to give 600 former MCI technicians at Verizon Business the same rights and protections as other Verizon workers in the Verizon East contract. After the breakfast, VZB techs John Elia, Kevin Leppmann, Mark Latham and David Rogol thanked Senator John Kerry for his support. In March 2007, Kerry along with other elected officials, helped certify that a majority of VZB techs had signed cards for representation by IBEW and CWA. Please see the Boston Globe article below for a summary of the past year's organizing victories in Greater Boston.
Union membership rises in area
More than 6,000 joined last year, the most in 2 decades
By Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff | August 30, 2008
Greater Boston's union movement is swelling, with about 6,359 new members since last Labor Day, the largest roundup of recruits in about two decades.
The growth in the area's union membership is driven by cab drivers, security guards, truck drivers, communications technicians, and home-care assistants. It's too soon to say, but this newfound success in unionizing could mean Greater Boston is bucking a state and national trend of flat or declining membership over the past 20 years as unionized jobs have disappeared due to offshoring, technological advancements, and recession-driven downsizing.
"This could be a turning point in labor history," said James Green, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston who has been teaching history and labor studies since 1977.
In 2007, the Commonwealth's tally of unionized workers dropped to its lowest level in 19 years, sinking to 379,000 members after losing 35,000 of them that year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the percentage of Massachusetts workers who belonged to unions-- which is a more telling statistic since it adjusts for the state's job losses or gains-- also declined, sliding to 13.2 percent from 14.5 percent in 2006. Nationally, the number and percent of workers who are union members have declined every year for the past two decades, until last year, when the percentage leveled at 12.1 percent, up from the prior year's 12 percent.
The government doesn't break down data to the regional or city levels and no other group keeps accurate track of the Boston area's total union membership. But labor professors say it's significant that so many workers in a variety of fields recently have organized in Boston. In the past year, union drives have succeeded in multiple places, including Verizon Business, United Parcel Service of America Inc.'s division that absorbed Overnite Express, AlliedBarton Security Services, Northeast Security, and Securitas.
"That's a wide spectrum," said Thomas A. Kochan, a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management. "It says there's a real thirst for voice and representation among the workforce today."
Rich Rogers, executive secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council, said this is the largest number of new members in the Greater Boston area since the late 1980s, when 3,500 Harvard University employees formed the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. He said the new success is also due to "savvy union leadership utilizing innovative tactics and strategies" to get around the antiquated 1930s labor laws that were designed for industrial workforces and the cumbersome, lengthy National Labor Relations Act procedures that, among other things, require a 45-day waiting period before workers can vote to unionize.
For instance, Greater Boston's 3,514 personal-care assistants, who are hired by disabled or elderly people to work in their homes, historically weren't allowed to form a union because they didn't share the same employer or workplace. But new legislation in 2006 created a common employer for these home-care assistants, who total 22,000 statewide, and last November allowed them to vote, through a mail-in ballot, in favor of forming a union.
Similarly, Boston's 1,200 taxi drivers and 1,500 security guards in Boston and Cambridge weren't granted collective bargaining rights through the National Labor Relations Board. So some union organizers took their case to the community, holding rallies in front of clients' offices and rounding up prominent pastors and politicians to write newspaper opinion pieces and appeal to employers to give their workers the rights to unionize.
With the 50 local freight drivers and dock workers, UPS agreed to recognize them as a union if the majority of workers signed authorization cards, rather than requiring that to be the precursor to an official National Labor Relations Board election.
And about 95 local Verizon Business technicians were granted admittance into a union as a settlement to an arbitration case that union officials filed against the company. The case claimed another Verizon division's union contract prohibited the nonunion technicians from performing the same type of work.
While many of these unionization efforts took creative twists, they still taxed organizers and employees.
Verizon Business senior technician David Rogol of Holden used three vacation days last spring to attend the annual shareholder meeting in Lincoln, Neb. There, he asked the chief executive why Verizon treats them like "third-class citizens"-- paying them $20,000 less than their counterparts in other divisions and offering healthcare that costs them each $5,000 a year while their counterparts receive it for free-- and why the company refuses to recognize their signed authorization cards in favor of a union.
"We respect employees' rights to be in a union" Verizon Business spokesman Peter Lucht told the Globe. But the company wants employees to hold secret-ballot elections, as outlined by the law, so they "are not subject to any coercion," Lucht said.
Rogol said unionizing is "an intimidating process," one he didn't want to take on during most of his eight years at Verizon Business, which was formerly known as WorldCom and then MCI. "At that stage in my career, I wanted to improve myself, and I was a company man," said Rogol, now a 40-year-old husband and father of 10- and 16-year-old sons. "But once I realized that didn't get me anywhere, I really had no alternative."
On Saturday, November 24th, a majority of the 2,600 dealers at Foxwoods Casino voted Yes in favor of joining the UAW, making this union the first in the country to be established at a tribal casino by a contested vote. Prior to a Federal Appeals Court decision in February which ruled that Indian tribes must adhere to the National Labor Relations Act, the dealers would not have had the right to petition for, and choose a union through an NLRB election. Shortly after the Appeals Court ruling, dealers who wanted a voice on the job approached the UAW, who represents 6,000 gambling workers in Detroit, Atlantic City and Newport, Rhode Island.
In the months leading up to the election, the UAW built a tremendous amount of support from dealers-enough to withstand the shameful anti-union campaign launched by casino management. Foxwoods management still denies that the NLRB has a right to hold an election on tribal land, and will likely exhaust their legal appeals in order to prevent the dealers from bargaining collectively.
While casino management is clearly unhappy about their employees' newfound voice on the job, more importantly, workers are thrilled and relieved. Sherry Lee, a nine-year table games dealer said "Casino dealers came together because we deserved to be treated with dignity and respect. Our success is an example of what can be accomplished when people work together. Casino dealers sent a strong message today: We are united, regardless of race, ethnicity or language. We stayed strong and voted YES for a say in our working conditions."
The next step for dealers will be to elect a bargaining committee for contract negotiations. "As part of the UAW, we look forward to sitting down with management to negotiate a fair contract that secures our future, and the future of our casino." said Billy Shea, a dealer at the casino since the day it opened.
The victory at Foxwoods will inevitably improve the working conditions of the 2,600 dealers, but its significance stretches far beyond Connecticut. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal stated "It's impact could be seismic in changing the landscape of labor relations at tribal casinos, not only in Connecticut, but across the nation."
There are 400 tribal casinos that employ about 250,000 people in the United States. The Federal Court ruling and the victory at Foxwoods have sent a powerful message to these workers--that they have a right to a union, just like everyone else in their industry.
On Wednesday, October 24, after nearly one year of negotiations and many days of hand billing, letter writing and holding informational picket lines, the Brigham and Women's Hospital engineers and members of the Area Trades Council ratified a new five year agreement. The new contract guarantees these skilled maintenance workers good wage increases, a strong boost to their pension fund, and the most important issue of the negotiations--job security. Now these hospital workers have real job protection when they are forced out of work for an extended period of time for any reason.
This contract fight was successful primarily because of the impressive unity and strength of the Brigham and Women's Engineers, who stuck together and took action when needed. Another major reason for the campaigns success was the overwhelming support that workers had from the labor community and our labor-friendly elected officials. Workers from many different unions were always ready to march and stand with the BWH engineers.
Dick Monks, Organizer from the Area Trades Council, pointed to the support of labor in pushing the hospital to negotiate, and expressed gratitude on behalf of the Area Trades: "The hospital eventually figured out that it wasn't in their best interest to take on the entire labor movement in this fight. We are especially thankful to the Mass Nurses Association and 1199 SEIU; the Massachusetts AFL-CIO; Greater Boston Central Labor Council; Jobs with Justice, and as always, our brothers and sisters of the Boston Building Trades. Thank You!"
The successful negotiations with Brigham & Women's Hospital are proof of what we all know: When the Labor Movement comes together to be seen and heard, and we truly represent that "an injury to one is an injury to all"; we can achieve fairness and justice for workers.
If you were looking for a cab on Tuesday October 9th, the best place to find one was at Florian Hall in Dorchester. That is where more than 500 cabbies showed up to make their voices heard at work by joining the Boston Area Taxi Drivers Association. Since then, more than 100 drivers have signed membership cards at the BTDA office, making the Association close to 700 strong with more cabbies joining each day. Boston taxi drivers have been expressing their concerns about problems on the job for a long time, and now they have a formal, united voice to do so.
The Boston Area Taxi Drivers Association is a chartered organization of the United Steelworkers Union, and has the full support of the Greater Boston Central Labor Council and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. The drivers, who are considered independent contractors and not employees, cannot join a union and collectively bargain under the National Labor Relations Act, but the dues paid by members of the Association will finance legal representation, and union representation in political and legislative matters. The USW and BTDA have been working on behalf of drivers since July while building up to the big sign-up day, dealing with the city Hackney unit and holding a rally in August at the Tremont House Courtyard Marriott to protest the practice of "kickbacks"-money taken by hotel doormen to steer guests toward limousines rather than taxis.
Some of the most common workplace concerns expressed by drivers in a survey administered by the USW were meter rate increases needed to keep up with the rising costs of gas and tolls, medallion leasing fees and policies, unreasonable removal of licenses or medallions without just cause, and the long hours worked just to make a living. Drivers report that the average Boston taxi driver who doesn't own a medallion has to make $10 an hour just to break even, covering the $7 to lease a cab and $3 for gas. This forces drivers to work long hours-most work six 12-hour shifts a week. Almost 1,500 drivers responded to this survey, with almost all expressing interest in joining the BTDA.
Taxi drivers showing up at Florian Hall on Tuesday witnessed an impressive show of solidarity from both the Labor and political communities. Rows of cabs filled the parking lot, with a total of 562 cabbies filtering in throughout the day. Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney stopped in to express her support, along with Councilors Michael Flaherty and Stephen Murphy, and State Senator Anthony Petruccelli. Senator Steven Tolman and Representative Martin Walsh both phoned in their support for the drivers. The focus is now on Mayor Thomas Menino, who has yet to state that taxi drivers have a right to representation and express his support for the Boston Taxi Drivers Association.
Thanks to the drivers and their many supporters, Tuesday was a landmark day for Boston cabbies, giving them a voice on the job and solidarity on the road.
AFSCME Council 93 has organized nearly 300 workers through three different campaigns in Maine and New Hampshire during recent months. The biggest victory occurred on September 26th, when 160 workers at the Cheshire County Maplewood Nursing Home voted overwhelmingly to join AFSCME. The new local's members include licensed nursing assistants, medical nursing assistants, central supply clerks, receptionists and others.
Roger Lesmireses, a physical therapy aide elected as the Local's first President, cited favoritism, inadequate healthcare benefits and unfair terminations as the driving forces behind the need for a union. Lesmireses said that the work environment had deteriorated to the point where "people were thoroughly disgusted. We wanted a voice on the job."
Fifty employees of the First Student Bus Company in Augusta, Maine also voted to join Council 93, as have 73 city employees in Lewiston, Maine. The new unit in Lewiston includes parks and fleet superintendents, building inspectors, city engineers, city auditor and administrative assistants among others. Prior to joining AFSCME, the City Council had the sole decision on their benefits, wages and everything else. Now they have a voice.
Though the individual issues may have been different at each of these three workplaces, the underlying reason for joining a union--a voice on the job--was the same for all. Thanks to the efforts of these workers and AFSCME Council 93, there are a growing number who have one.
To visit AFSCME Council 93's website, click here
In August, Pipefitters Local 537 organized Arctic Engineering, a company with seven employees in Everett, MA. Technicians at Arctic Engineering service and install residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment. Five of the seven employees voted to join Local 537, making the Pipefitters their official bargaining agent. Since August, the union and company have been in contract negotiations, and after months at the table it looks like they are close to an agreement.
To visit Pipefitters Local 537's website, click here
On May 1st the Stoughton, Massachusetts school cafeteria workers voted for UFCW Local 1445 in a three way election. A group of workers were tired of having no real representation in the Stoughton Lunch Association (essentially a company union) who had a document they called a contract with no arbitration, seniority rights or steward system. It also excluded the part-timers who receive no benefits, holidays, vacations, sick days and the like that full-time employees receive. Supervisors campaigned against the union and for the Association. The vote resulted in a UFCW victory.
On May 7th in keeping with the sprit of the proposed "Employee Free Choice Act" the Heinz Company D/B/A the Alden Merrell Cheese Cake Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts offered neutrality to UFCW Local 1445. Four experienced staffers from Local 1445 and one from the International entered the plant and signed up 122 workers out of 156 in less than 24 hours. On May 10, Local 1445 was recognized as the sole bargaining agent for the 156 workers after a neutral third party verified a solid majority of support for the union. Some anti-union efforts were made to thwart the drive by overzealous managers but the overwhelming support from the mostly Hispanic workforce brought in the union. The workers manufacture a number of commercial bakery products and frozen deserts which are sold to fancy restaurants and a supermarket chain.
On May 9th UFCW Local 1445 was certified by the NLRB after the workers voted in the union at the Butcher Block Company in Boston. The company filed frivolous objections to the election in an attempt to destroy a majority of support by stalling on negotiating a first agreement. Butcher Block is a small meat packing plant in Boston that processes packaged beef and chicken products sold in meat markets and supermarkets.
Congrulations to UFCW Local 1445 for adding well over 200 new union members to the Labor Movement.
To visit UFCW 1445's website, click here
Management at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has recognized the Area Trades Council and District Council 35 as the collective bargaining representative for 22 custodians after determining the union's majority status. The workers clean and maintain the renowned Museum on Huntington Avenue and the Museum School in Boston's Fenway area. Boston City Councillor Felix Arroyo introduced the union to Museum managers who responded favorably to the orderly and mutually respectful process of card-check. DC 35 Business Manager Ralph Harriman credited the Museum for its responsible approach to the matter. "We forsee a good relationship with this important institution, one that will benefit the workers with effective representation and help to enhance the smooth operation of the Museum." he said.
The Quincy School Custodians' Association, an independent union representing skilled maintenance workers in public buildings throughout the city, voted February 24th to affiliate with Painters & Allied Trades District Council #35. The affiliation agreement, which provides that Quincy will have its own local union and officers, was effective March 1, 2007.
DC #35 Business Manager Ralph Harriman, Business Representative Mike Lafferty and Director of Political & Public Relations John Laughlin met several times with the Executive Board of the independent union and attended membership meetings to answer questions, prior to the secret ballot vote. The Quincy Custodians union has requested the Local Union number 1911, which is pending approval from the IUPAT International Union office in Washington, D.C.
The Quincy Custodians become the 14th affiliated union under District Council #35. Business Rep. Mike Lafferty will be the full-time representative assigned to work with the new Local Union. Brother Lafferty, a member of the Boston School Custodians Local #1952, has been working with the union and coordinating the affiliation effort for several months.
The vote to affiliate was unanimous with a majority of the independent union's members turning out to vote at North Quincy High School.
"The fact that a majority of the members came out to vote and that the affiliation received a unanimous approval is a sure sign that this new partnership is off to a strong start," said Business Manager Ralph Harriman. "The combination of the Quincy Custodians and DC #35 members already living in Quincy makes the Council a stronger voice in that city for working families."
To visit District Council 35's website, click here
The Boston Newspaper Printing Pressmen's Local 3, affiliated with the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is pleased to announce a successful organizing drive at Journeyman Press, Inc. in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Local 3 achieved voluntary union recognition for eight full-time bindery workers at the commercial printing plant. Journeyman Press agreed to union recognition after the union showed overwhelming support using the authorization card check system. All eight workers voted unanimously to join Local 3. "The unanimous vote clearly showed that these employees know the value of union representation," said Local 3 President Martin Callaghan. Local 3 quickly capitalized on the orgnaizing victory by securing a first contract, usually just as challenging to get as a successful organizing drive, on January 8, 2007. The agreement includes holidays, paid vacation time, and pay increases for these eight bindery workers. Congratulations Local 3!
