Another Teamster organizing victory in Washington!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8l930CpSGL2AKGok6-GogY_cKooswz-jhmFSmGBnJLamxEZ_S_dddNnYjmrEXdOzt34CHyR6QbmhzLgh4NtNdHjdnvkq51ilJqfNST9YhMuSJwnl93njREjs1zQeHyyyXqByV_IFzKj6/s1600/victory.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8l930CpSGL2AKGok6-GogY_cKooswz-jhmFSmGBnJLamxEZ_S_dddNnYjmrEXdOzt34CHyR6QbmhzLgh4NtNdHjdnvkq51ilJqfNST9YhMuSJwnl93njREjs1zQeHyyyXqByV_IFzKj6/s200/victory.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div>Welcome to our 64 new brothers and sisters who work at an IKEA distribution facility in Frederickson, Wash.! They <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/warehouse-workers-ikea-vote-join-teamsters">voted by a 2-to-1 margin to join Teamsters Local 117</a>.<br /><br />The warehouse workers voted on September 18, seeking fair treatment, respect, job security and strong representation. <br /><br />Mario Sapilak, a four-year IKEA employee, says he is thrilled to be a Teamster:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We are excited to have the strength of the Teamsters behind us. We need to have a voice at work and to have management listen to our concerns, and the Teamsters will help us achieve that.</blockquote>During their organizing drive, the workers got international support too. <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn" rel="nofollow">UNI-Global Union</a> and other unions in Sweden that represent IKEA workers sent letters of support to Local 177.<br /><br />Tracey A. Thompson, secretary-treasurer of Local 117, said global solidarity and Teamster support paid off:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We are grateful for the strong support of our labor partners abroad as well as the support of our own international union – the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. We are happy to welcome the IKEA warehouse workers to the Teamsters. We look forward to working with them to improve their working conditions and to help them achieve a strong contract.</blockquote>This is a big win considering that IKEA is not exactly the most union-friendly employer. In 2011 the furniture giant <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/04/welcome-to-3rd-world-danville-va.html">moved its factory in Eastern Europe to Danville, Va</a>., to cut labor costs and take advantage of Virginia's "right to work" for less law against unions. And our brothers and sisters in British Columbia are <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/ikea-locks-out-teamsters-for-8-weeks.html">still locked out by IKEA</a> after rejecting a concessionary contract.<br /><br />Unionized IKEA <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/B1970B05D330CBB9C1257BEB005548F1?OpenDocument" rel="nofollow">workers in Germany are also struggling</a> with the company.<br /><br />IKEA's bad labor relations are <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/10/business/la-fi-ikea-union-20110410" rel="nofollow">well known</a>. Fortunately for our new brothers and sisters in Washington, they now have the protection of a strong union and a great local that fights hard for its members.<br /><br />Welcome to the Teamsters!

IKEA Local 117 organizing victory Another Teamster organizing victory in Washington!

Welcome to our 64 new brothers and sisters who work at an IKEA distribution facility in Frederickson, Wash.! They voted by a 2-to-1 margin t...

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Teamster organizing victory in Washington!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSRA73viHAt9YFFQft77YntHHIokZyEVURpyv74TY2uMeBcRq0T-I4QWYLyiUYTyr4eO1AdPqNX17VABlEQJmGXfjaiCNz5Qjhb2mhW3lIPKjB6t3wKjE75KqhWBbrFsY6ahm0ocY92ZX/s1600/victory.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSRA73viHAt9YFFQft77YntHHIokZyEVURpyv74TY2uMeBcRq0T-I4QWYLyiUYTyr4eO1AdPqNX17VABlEQJmGXfjaiCNz5Qjhb2mhW3lIPKjB6t3wKjE75KqhWBbrFsY6ahm0ocY92ZX/s200/victory.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please welcome our 160 new brothers and sisters who shuttle rental cars for GCA Services Group at the <a href="http://www.portseattle.org/Sea-Tac/Pages/default.aspx">Seattle-Tacoma International Airport</a>. They voted 91-44 on Monday to join <a href="http://www.teamsters117.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 117</a> in Tukwila, Wash.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The rental car workers have been organizing for over six months to become Teamsters and win respect from management. Leonard Smith, organizing director at Local 117, says the victory will inspire other low-wage non-union workers at the airport:</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This victory is an exciting step forward for all workers at the Seattle Airport. It’s an example of how working together and sticking together truly pays off. By uniting for respect and dignity, the workers are showing other employees at the airport that they can come together and fight to improve their lives.</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Smith says that many workers at the airport are employed by companies like GCA, which is a contractor for Avis. These workers lack job security and are paid minimum wage. The GCA workers are setting an example for other Seattle airport workers by standing up for higher wages, benefits and paid sick days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In its <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/rental-car-workers-seattle-airport-join-teamsters-local-117" rel="nofollow">press release</a> on the victory, Local 117 explained that the GCA campaign is connected to the broader movement to secure higher pay for low-wage workers:</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The campaign for Teamster representation at GCA – which included help from organizers at Teamsters Local 174, SEIU and Working Washington – is part of an ongoing coalition effort among local unions and community groups organizing to win better working conditions for employees at the Seattle Airport. </span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The coalition has been working to organize non-union airport workers employed by contractors like GCA and others. In conjunction with other national campaigns to demand higher pay for low-wage workers, the coalition is pushing a ballot initiative in SeaTac, Wash., to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15.</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tracey Thompson, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 117, says the organizing win sets the stage for pushing up standards for other workers at the airport:</span></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are pleased to welcome these hardworking and dedicated workers who are so vital to the rental car operations of GCA. We look forward to representing them and helping them win a first contract that sets higher standards for them and other workers at the airport.</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The GCA workers in Seattle join hundreds of other rental car workers at Hertz, Avis and Budget who also belong to Local 117.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div>

Avis Local 117 low wage workers organizing victory Seattle Teamster organizing victory in Washington!

Please welcome our 160 new brothers and sisters who shuttle rental cars for GCA Services Group at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ....

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