Apple, Yahoo shuttle drivers set to vote on union

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

Unions continue to make inroads into Silicon Valley.

Shuttle drivers for Apple, eBay, Yahoo, Zynga and several other Silicon Valley firms are set to vote Saturday on a package for improved wages and benefits. The 160 drivers, most of them employed by Compass Transportation of San Jose, shuttle employees to and from those tech firms, as well as Amtrak, Evernote and Genentech.

The drivers sought representation from Teamsters Local 853 after the union in February reached an improved contract for Facebook drivers working for contractor Loop Transportation. The contract that the drivers for Apple and the other firms will vote on has terms that are similar to those in the Facebook-Loop contract and, if approved, would serve as the union's final offer to management.

Terms include hourly pay increases to $21-$25, increasing to $22.50-$28.50 in three years, shift differential pay and a six-hour minimum for drivers who do not want to work split shifts, as well as contributions to a defined pension.

The Teamsters began negotiating with Compass and parent company Transdev nearly five months ago. "In our negotiations to date with the Teamsters, we have resolved the majority of the administrative terms, but we are still negotiating economic issues," said Bryan O’Connell, senior vice president at Compass Transportation, in a statement to USA TODAY. "Compass Transportation will continue to negotiate in good faith with Teamsters Local 853 to reach an agreement that is acceptable to our clients and employees.”

As those negotiations when on, Apple boosted the pay of its contracted drivers to match that of the Facebook drivers.

“While Facebook has led the way in the fight to create decent wages and benefits in Silicon Valley, I fully expect other progressive tech companies like Apple to follow suit, seeing the value of helping bring their workers into the middle class,” said Rome Aloise, International Vice President and Local 853 principal officer.

Outsourced labor is no longer being ignored as part of corporate responsibility, says Alan Hyde, a professor at Rutgers School of Law in Newark, N.J., and author of Working in Silicon Valley: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-Velocity Labor Market. "Companies like Apple are setting the standard for ethical outsourcing," he said. "Even if it's more efficient to use a contractor, if a company benefits from services, they have responsibility for labor standards."

As to the upcoming vote, Genentech gave a statement to USA TODAY saying that "we are not a party to these collective negotiations, but we are supportive of a fair process and are awaiting the outcome."

Last fall, the Teamsters began organizing Silicon Valley bus drivers after USA TODAY's extensive coverage of their tough working conditions. Drivers wanted higher wages because many were working split shifts, one in the morning and another in the evening, and they were unpaid for the in-between hours. Many drivers, who cannot go home between shifts, would often sleep in their cars during that time.

Facebook shuttle drivers voted to join the union in November 2014 and reached a contract in February. Other workers at tech firms have seen their prospects improve, too. Google and Apple brought onto their payroll hundreds of security workers previously supplied by contractors, earning those workers the benefits and perks that full-fledged employees get.

Last week, more than 140 workers who are employed by human resources company Adecco to process same-day deliveries at Google Express Services in Palo Alto, Calif., asked the Teamsters to represent them in negotiations for better working conditions, too.

Workers say they have been harassed to work faster in poor conditions with damaged equipment, cracked floors and failing electrical systems that have resulted in fires, Aloise says. And they dislike Adecco's short-term employment agreements that require workers to leave after two years, he said.

Adecco spokesperson Vannessa Almeida Adamo said that the company had learned about the Palo Alto, Calif. workers' petition for representation election. "While we typically don’t comment on active legal matters and have not had a chance to review the petition, we have not received complaints or reports on the type of conditions that were cited," she said. "We are fully committed to ensuring that all of our offices, branches and client assignment sites are safe environments for our colleagues and associates."

Adecco could recognize the request, but usually a National Labor Relations Board vote of workers is required. That vote is expected in the next three to four weeks, Aloise said.

Elsewhere, security workers contracted to work at Amazon and Broadcom have sought support from the Service Employees International Union on improved work conditions.

"Support workers in the Silicon Valley and wherever they are working for tech companies are feeling emboldened by the success of the (Facebook) drivers' campaign," Aloise said. "This is evident in the fact that the Adecco/Google Express workers have stepped up and want to improve their work situations and the fact that others are constantly calling to find out how they get the benefit of Union representation for better wages, benefits and working conditions."

Contractors need to ensure that anti-union activities at workplaces during the negotiation process do not penalize workers and prevent them having "a chance at a decent piece of the pie," he said.

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider