by TOMOKI CHIEN
(Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
March 24, 2023 2:58 p.m.
USC shuttle workers won Thursday’s union election by a one-vote margin, National Labor Relations Board documents published Friday showed.
Of the 32 eligible workers, 16 cast ballots in favor of the union and 15 against. The NLRB has certified the results, pending objections about the election process within seven days.
March 23, 2023 9:15 p.m.
USC shuttle workers voted Thursday to unionize and join Service Employees International Union Local 721, the largest public sector union in Southern California.
The 32-person union consists of shuttle drivers and dispatchers who operate USC’s intercampus shuttle lines.
“This historic win puts us in the driver’s seat, and gives us the ability to win fair pay, better benefits, and a voice on the job,” wrote James Sims, a USC shuttle driver, in a media release Thursday afternoon. “We’re confident that this historic election will not only improve the lives of shuttle drivers who are the backbone of the University’s transportation system, but also raise up the quality of services that we provide for our passengers.”
The win came at a busy moment for local labor movements: Los Angeles Unified School District workers concluded a three-day strike Thursday, thousands of USC graduate student workers won the right to unionize in February and 48,000 University of California academic workers staged a mammoth six-week strike last December.
Local 721 wrote on Twitter Thursday that USC’s shuttle drivers were some of the last remaining non-union transit workers in the L.A. region. The union also wrote that USC’s drivers earn $18 per hour with merit-based raises, as opposed to unionized workers at UCLA who make $22.74 to $30.58 per hour.
“Our historic union victory today puts us on the path to win what we deserve,” Sims wrote. “We look forward to coming together with the University very soon, and in good faith, to begin the bargaining process to negotiate our first union contract at USC.”
February 27, 2023 6:09 p.m.
Workers and community members are rallying ahead of a vote on unionization.
USC shuttle drivers and dispatchers rallied Tuesday in support of their bid to unionize and join the Service Employees International Union Local 721. The group of some 50 workers and students marched from the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work to Tommy Trojan, catching attention from passersby on Trousdale Parkway.
Broadly, the workers are seeking better pay and benefits, as well as disciplinary and grievance processes that include union representation, according to a Local 721 media advisory dated Tuesday.
“Like every union, our shuttle drivers want respect on the job, a voice on the job and benefits that respect the fact that they’ve been here for many years,” said Felipe Caceres, a coordinator with Local 721. “So shuttle drivers are demanding a union: a say on the job … a seat at the table.”
The prospective union of 30 drivers and two dispatchers — who coordinate routes and direct shuttle drivers over the radio — filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board Feb. 6. The Board filed a notice of election Tuesday morning, setting the date for March 23. The fate of the union will hinge on a simple majority vote.
Local 721’s website boasts that its over 95,000 workers comprise the “largest public sector union in Southern California.” In its media advisory Friday, the union accused USC of engaging in “union-busting” tactics in an effort to stop the campaign.
“USC managers have sent deceptive emails to drivers and dispatchers with anti-union messages,” the release read. “Drivers also fear that USC managers — as they’ve done during past union campaigns — may also start holding ‘captive audience’ meetings to spread misinformation and dissuade workers from voting YES to form a union.”
In a statement to the Daily Trojan Tuesday, the University wrote that it values “[its] shuttle drivers and the important work they do,” but that it does “not believe they need a third party to speak for them.”
“That said, we respect our drivers’ right to decide for themselves whether or not they wish to have a union represent them, and this decision should be made through the election scheduled for March 23,” the statement read.
The statement did not address questions regarding Local 721’s accusation of union-busting.
The shuttle workers’ effort comes on the heels of a major victory for a union of thousands of graduate student workers at USC, who secured the right to unionize in mid-February. Of the more than 1,700 ballots cast in that union’s election with the National Labor Relations Board, 93% were in favor of unionization.
Similarly, a supermajority of the shuttle workers filed union authorization cards earlier this month, triggering the late-March election.
The March 23 election will run between noon and 4 p.m. on the University Park Campus at the USC Hotel. A vote earlier that morning at Parking Lot 70 on the Health Sciences Campus will run between 10 a.m. and noon.
February 27, 2023 11:25 a.m.
Union vote to take place in March, NLRB says.
USC shuttle drivers and dispatchers will vote on unionization March 23, according to National Labor Relations Board documents posted Tuesday morning. The workers are rallying Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. in front of the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work in support of their unionization bid.
