MV Transportation workers in Springfield, Mass., joined UFCW Local 1459 on Jan. 5 for the better wages and benefits that come with a union contract.
The 20 workers, who are employed as reservationists, schedulers, driver trainers, road supervisors, and in garage and maintenance, joined our union family because they wanted the same union benefits as MV Transportation bus drivers, who are members of UFCW Local 1459.
The organizing campaign included meeting with all 20 transit workers and coordinating meetings with the transit workers and unionized bus drivers at the depot and at union gatherings. The bus driver and transit worker bargaining units are both subject to a change in private employers every three years when the busing contract with the public transport entity in Springfield goes up for bid. When MV Transportation took over from the previous private operator, the non-union workers lost benefits and, at the same time, the already unionized bus drivers lost nothing—and this change in working conditions was central to the transit workers’ motivation for organizing with UFCW Local 1459.