Salesforce Teamsters Ratify First Contract

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters who work for WeDriveU, a bus contractor for Salesforce in San Francisco, Calif., ratified a strong first contract this weekend that continued the trend of raising standards across the tech industry for bus drivers.

The 25 new Teamsters members, who are represented by Local 853 in Oakland, Calif., will receive wage rates that are equal or better than the existing tech shuttle contracts covering drivers at Yahoo, Facebook, Apple, Genentech, Tesla, EBay, Cisco, Amtrak, Netflix and PayPal.

"I am very happy to be a Teamster and covered by my first Teamster contract," said PJ Williams, a Salesforce bus driver and member of the negotiating team. "I have worked in the bus transportation industry for many years and the Teamsters Union is the best union I have been associated with. I am excited to move forward with our contract."

The agreement also vastly improves health care coverage for the drivers and their dependents, greatly reducing any cost to the driver. Other areas of improvement include working conditions, job protections, holiday pay, overtime pay and vacation time.

"The Teamsters Union along with many courageous drivers who stood up for themselves and their families, have raised the bar and vastly improved the workplace for hundreds of tech drivers and other bus drivers who have benefited from the increased wage and benefits negotiated in Teamster contracts," said Rome Aloise, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 853 and International Vice President.

"Many of the non-union companies have implemented the wages and some of the other benefits in an attempt to slow the movement toward complete unionization of the tech drivers, but the workers recognize that without solidarity throughout their industry and a strong Teamster contract, they really have no guarantee those improvements will be there tomorrow. I am very proud of the Salesforce drivers and I look forward to continuing to organize tech drivers throughout the region."

Contact:Rome Aloise, (202) 345-9142

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SOURCE Teamsters Local 853