Organizing heats up at Teamsters 665
December 19, 2024
Spin Electric Scooter Workers Join Local 665
Mechanics, operation specialists, dispatchers and fleet ambassadors at Spin in the City of San Jose have won union recognition, joining Teamsters Local 665 as a regional bargaining unit.
“Local 665 has represented Spin workers in San Francisco for the last few years since they launched. This win solidifies and expands our organizing strategy,” said Tony Delorio, Secretary-Treasurer at Local 665. “We look forward to continuing to connect with workers in the tech industry to improve their lives and ensure they have a voice at work. As Teamsters, our members—regardless of craft or industry—will always have a voice that we will lift up.”
Electric bicycle and scooter sharing was developed as an app-based transportation alternative in San Francisco and has expanded to many metropolitan locations in the United States. The growing workforce repairs and maintains a large fleet of vehicles. The growth comes as the public embraces this new form of mobility.
“We are proud to welcome these new members at Spin to North America’s strongest union,” said Rocco Calo, Director of the Teamsters Industrial Trades Division. “We know that crafts and industries are everchanging, and that’s why we have been working tirelessly to organize workers in new and emerging industries such as scooter sharing. Regardless of the work involved, Teamsters remain focused on improving the wages, benefits, and working conditions of all workers who play a role in technological innovation.”
SFO Airport Bag Handlers are Now Local 665 Members
Further north, agents, drivers, security ambassadors, and supervisors at Bags, a subsidiary of the Metropolis Company, at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) have joined Teamsters Local 665.
“We are proud to welcome these new members to our Teamsters 665 family. They work alongside other Local 665 members who told them about how life changing Teamsters representation is,” said Tony Delorio, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 665. “It’s becoming common knowledge to workers in all sectors that Teamsters membership is key to bringing improvements and dignity to their workplace.”
The 40 new Teamsters work as Remote Airline Check-In (RAC) workers, processing air traveler baggage at SFO’s parking garages, rental car facility, and at the Air Train.
“The cost of living in the Bay Area is so high. We heard from other airport workers that the Teamsters have been getting good contracts with pay scales that keep up with inflation. After we talked about it, everyone who worked at Bags said yes to joining Local 665,” said Nyeisha Thornton, a Bags worker at SFO.
This organizing drive follows several recent wins for Local 665. During the recent organizing campaigns, the Teamsters Industrial Trades Division provided tools and added support for organizing new bargaining units.
“These efforts at airports and other locations add to the strength of the Teamsters. Our division will be there to back up successful organizing campaigns, from start to finish,” said Rocco Calo, Director of the Teamsters Industrial Trades Division.
New Teamsters Provide Access to Public Transit in Underserved Communities
In San Francisco, drivers at Via Transportation, a contractor for the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), have finalized a successful card-check organizing effort to join Teamsters Local 665. The new partnership between the Teamsters and the SFMTA will play a key role in launching the Bayview Shuttle, which will create public transit access to members of the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco.
“We are proud to be part of this transit launch that brings expanded service to residents in the Bayview community,” said Tony Delorio, Secretary-Treasurer at Local 665. “San Francisco’s southeast neighborhood has high density union households, and this new service will benefit workers and community residents alike. This is a great opportunity to bring mobility to seniors, workers, and youth while at the same time creating new employment opportunities for Teamsters.”
The card check for representation was conducted by San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, a longtime champion of transit expansion to underserved neighborhoods. Walton represents District 10, which includes the Bayview community. Launched in November, the Bayview Shuttle brings public transit access to communities that historically lacked adequate connections to metropolitan and regional public transit services. The SFMTA has announced that additional communities in San Francisco may soon enjoy expansion of the program.
