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Sysco Mechanics Vote Unanimously to Join Teamsters Local 769
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) – In another victory for Sysco workers in West Palm Beach, Fla., mechanics voted unanimously in favor of joining Teamsters Local 769 in Miami yesterday. The eight mechanics follow 84 Sysco drivers at the facility who won Teamster representation back in April, making theirs the first Sysco facility in the state where workers have formed a union.
“Mechanics at Sysco in West Palm Beach have made a huge step forward to raise standards for themselves and their coworkers by voting for Teamster representation,” said Mike Scott, Local 769 President. “By joining their driver coworkers as Teamsters, these workers are fighting for a better future at Sysco. They overcame the company’s typical anti-union tactics and now we look forward to negotiating a fair contract for mechanics at the facility.”
Like their driver counterparts, the mechanics are seeking respect, fair pay and affordable health benefits. They overcame intense anti-union efforts by the company by staying united to win union representation.
“Seeing what the drivers accomplished when they joined the Teamsters earlier this year pushed us to fight for union representation as well,” said Joseph Pennica, a Sysco dayshift fleet mechanic at the facility. “We are standing strong for respect and job security, and now we have strong representation to back us up. It feels great to be a Teamster.”
“It is good to see more Sysco workers joining the Teamsters in West Palm Beach,” said Steve Vairma, Teamsters International Vice President and Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division. “This is a company that has been mistreating its workers nationwide for too long and spending huge sums of money to prevent workers like West Palm Beach Sysco mechanics from having a voice at work. It’s time for the company to respect its hardworking employees.”
The Teamsters represent more than 8,000 drivers and warehouse workers at Sysco, one of the largest foodservice companies in the country.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in 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.