File Picture: Union Members Demonstrating in New York (Photo : Reuters)
Silicon Valley bus drivers ferrying workers to Apple, Ebay, Zynga and Genentech have moved to protect themselves by unionizing. The drivers voted to be represented by the trade union Teamsters Union Local 853, reported USA Today.
The current move by these drivers relates to pay and work conditions at their jobs. In particular, it is alleged that many of these drivers end up working 'split shifts'.
They work in the mornings (from 6 am) and in the evenings (till 8 pm), but don't work for a block of time in between. They are paid only for the hours that they actually do the driving. Once they drive their buses to their assigned offices in the morning, they only start driving again in the evening shift. However, they are currently not paid for the time they end up spending in the office waiting for their next shift to commence.
These are workers that worked for a company called 'Compass Transportation', with whom the tech companies had contracts to ferry their workers from across the region to the location of their offices, Forbes magazine has reported.
In recent days a number of Silicon Valley support workers have been choosing to unionize. The janitors that work there have already voted to also be represented by trade unions. Also, bus drivers ferrying employees at Facebook also voted to be represented by a union in negotiations with Facebook. The Facebook drivers have since been able to have their work contracts re-negotiated.
Going forward the trade union Teamsters Union Local 853 would now represent the interests of the Silicon Valley bus drivers in their negotiations with their employers regarding pay and other work conditions.
