Teamster Shuttle Drivers For High-Tech Companies To Negotiate Master Contract

SAN FRANCISCO, March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Negotiations for a contract covering Teamster drivers in Silicon Valley will get under way this week. The drivers operate shuttle buses transporting employees for Apple, Facebook and Twitter, among other high-tech companies.

Teamsters Local 853 representatives and a negotiating committee of 15 drivers will head into negotiations for a contract which will cover nearly 1,000 shuttle drivers. A master agreement would provide uniform standards for drivers with Loop/Hallcon Transportation and WeDriveU, contractors to Apple, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Salesforce and Amazon. 

Negotiations are ongoing and noneconomic aspects of the agreement have already been discussed. Negotiations will continue and economic aspects of the contract will be addressed starting Thursday. The drivers' current agreement expires in 2018. They organized with the Teamsters in 2015.

"The committee is excited and united in the goal of achieving a strong contract that improves wages and provides for retirement security for drivers after they've spent years in service to these profitable companies," said Stacy Murphy, Teamsters Local 853 Vice President with the negotiating team. "Local 853 previously negotiated a defined contribution pension plan for the drivers, but one of the main proposals is to enter the $42 billion dollar Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust, a defined benefit plan, which awards past service credits of up to 10 years for these drivers and will provide them a monthly income for their retirement years."

The contract for Compass Transportation workers at eBay, Yahoo, PayPal, Genentech, Tesla, Apple and Amtrak expires in October. Compass drivers are participating in the negotiations and the union fully intends to have all terms and conditions of the master agreement cover these workers.

The Teamsters Union is part of a growing movement of labor, faith and community-based organizations and workers challenging income inequality in Silicon Valley through an innovative partnership called Silicon Valley Rising. For more information, visit http://siliconvalleyrising.org.

For more information on tech worker organizing with the Teamsters, visit: http://teamster.org/tech-drivers-deserve-union.

Teamsters Joint Council 7 represents 100,000 working men and women in 22 local unions in Northern California, the Central Valley and Northern Nevada.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.  Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Stacy Murphy, (510) 673-4475
[email protected] 

SOURCE Teamsters Joint Council 7