Press Releases
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Back Labor Harmony for Commuter Shuttles
(SAN FRANCISCO) –– The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today adopted a resolution that would require the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to consider the labor practices of commuter shuttle operators as part of their permitting process.
The Commuter Shuttle Labor Harmony resolution, sponsored by Supervisor Scott Wiener, was adopted unanimously at this afternoon’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors and asks the SFMTA to review what steps shuttle operators have taken to ensure labor harmony in their workplaces.
“Today the Board of Supervisors is telling the shuttle operators that their labor practices matter,” said Rome Aloise, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif., and President of Teamsters Joint Council 7. “If shuttle companies want to participate in the city’s Commuter Shuttle Program, they need to get their house in order.”
The Commuter Shuttle Pilot Program was established by the SFMTA last year and allows licensed shuttle operators to use Muni stops to pick up and drop off workers who commute to office facilities outside the city—overwhelmingly at tech companies in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. The Labor Harmony resolution was driven in part by a concern that labor disputes between drivers and shuttle companies could disrupt Muni service if working conditions cause actions to occur at Muni stops.
“One of the key reasons the city established the Commuter Shuttle Pilot Program is to make it easier for San Franciscans to live car-free and rely on transit to get around,” Aloise said. “If bad operators cause labor disputes that slow down Muni service, then all San Franciscans will be impacted and the city will fall short of the original promises of the program.”
The Commuter Shuttle Pilot Program will expire in January of 2016, and the SFMTA will begin deliberations on the structure of a permanent shuttle program this year.
Teamsters Local 853 is raising standards by organizing drivers throughout the Silicon Valley. Local 853 represents shuttle drivers who work for transportation companies that contract with Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, eBay, Zynga and Genentech.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.