'Teamsters TV' - Teamsters Local 25

1842_Local25_Sum07.qxp 8/14/07 5:00 PM Page 20A Message fromSteven R. SullivanDirector of Organizing& Government AffairsThe Organizing Department has been very busy since mylast report. I would like to thank my team, Steve South andPat Palmisano, for working very hard in the interest of theLocal Union.In May, we were unsuccessful in our attempt to organize thedrivers at Cintas in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The companyhired a professional union buster and infiltrated the workplacewith dozens of managers from Cintas locations around thecountry. The drivers had endured three consecutive years ofwage cuts, but when the votes were finally cast, these workersvoted 31-25 not to join Local 25. It was my first union organizingelection loss as the Director of Organizing at Local 25 sinceI was appointed in May 2004. I learned a lot from that campaign.I made the appropriate changes and moved on to otherorganizing drives.On June 18, we welcomed 106 new members into Local 25with a 62-27 organizing victory at Kiessling Transit – The Ridein Braintree, Massachusetts. It was a grueling campaign, whichled to one worker being fired for talking to the union. We didfile charges at the National Labor Relations Board and they inturn filed a complaint against the company. Special thanks toOrganizers South and Palmisano for their long hours of serviceduring the campaign. They spent morning, noon and night onthe street talking to the drivers as they came and went to work.This strategy proved to be very successful.Also on June 18, the National Labor Relations Boardfinally certified our two elections at FedEx Home Delivery inWilmington, Massachusetts. It took eight months from thetime the workers first voted 24-8 (October 20, 2006) to get thecertification. It was a great day for the workers at FedEx.On July 13, we welcomed six new members from Zipcar.These workers serve as the fleet mechanics for the company.They ride bikes throughout the Boston area and repair andretrieve cars, which are rented by the hour or by the day.On July 11, the town of Saugus voluntarily recognizedTeamsters Local 25 as the bargaining representative for thetown’s 12 E-9-1-1 operators.We are waiting for a date from the Massachusetts LaborRelations Commission for a consent election for the eightEmergency 9-1-1 operators in the town of Sudbury.Successful organizing starts at the top. I want to thankPresident Sean M. O’Brien for giving me all of the resourcesI need to be a victorious Director of Organizing.A special thank you to Carson Byrum who served as anintern with the Organizing Department in the summer of2007. Carson is winding down his studies at Emerson Collegein Boston where he is a film major.Anthony Washington Wins $3,504Worker Fired forORGANIZINGReceives Back PayThe following is Anthony Washington’s letterthat he sent to Local 25 after he was awarded$3,504 in back pay.June 17, 2007Hello Steve:Words alonecannot explainmy gratitude forLocal 25. You arenot just unionrepresentatives,but you are myfriends. I want tothank you for everything you have donefor me and my family. Although I am nota union member you’ve treated me likeone. Only a friend would have such greatconcern as you showed for the welfare ofmy family. Not only did you help mereceive the back pay owed to me, youhave arranged several interviews to helpme land back on my feet. It takes a goodperson to put themselves out there for atotal stranger, so my family and I want tothank you, not just for the job possibilitiesand the checks I received, but for treatingme as if I was a family member.Sincerely,Anthony Washington