San Francisco to weigh tech buses' labor practices

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

San Francisco city officials voted Tuesday to consider transportation company labor practices in issuing future permits.

The San Francisco city and county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution requiring the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to review Bay Area shuttle companies' practices.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, one of the 11-member board, introduced a resolution earlier this month to ensure "labor harmony" at city bus stops, suggesting that the SFMTA should consider workers' rights as a factor for transportation companies' use of bus stops. With Tuesday's vote, the SFMTA will officially consider the change to its review process.

"Employee shuttles provide an important transportation service for many San Francisco residents and reduce the number of cars on our streets," Weiner said in an e-mail. "It's important to ensure that the drivers of these shuttles are treated fairly in terms of wages and working conditions. This resolution puts the Board of Supervisors firmly on record in support of these working men and women."

The area's bus stops have become focal points as the Teamsters have organized shuttle drivers who work for local transportation firms. Those companies have contracts to shuttle employees of big tech companies such as Google and Facebook to and from work. Permits allow those firms' buses to use the same stops that city buses do.

Just two weeks ago, Teamsters Local 853 negotiated a contract for shuttle drivers employed by Loop Transportation, with which Facebook has a contract. In addition to higher pay and more vacation time, shuttle drivers are receiving other benefits including a minimum six-hour day and guaranteed overtime.

The Teamsters organized the bus drivers after USA TODAY's extensive coverage of their working conditions. Many work 12- to 16-hour days, driving split shifts in the mornings and evenings. Among complaints: unfair compensation — $18 to $20 an hour — for transporting six-figure-earning technology workers.

Meanwhile, other Silicon Valley drivers who work for Compass Transportation — which has contracts with Amtrak, Apple, eBay, Genentech, Yahoo and Zynga — approved representation by Teamsters Local 853.

Since then, Apple announced plans to give shuttle drivers a 25% increase in hourly pay and other perks.

On Monday, Teamsters Local 665 demonstrated at Pier 50 in San Francisco protesting that another Bay Area company, Bauer Transportation, has kept its employees under surveillance to prevent a unionization effort.

Drivers have complained about company intimidation.

"Today the Board of Supervisors is telling the shuttle operators that their labor practices matter," said Rome Aloise, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Local 853 in a statement. "If shuttle companies want to participate in the city's Commuter Shuttle Program, they need to get their house in order."

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