Restaurant Staff Join Foodservice Workers Nationwide in Organizing

(LAWRENCE, Kan.) – Foodservice workers employed by Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community have filed for an election to join Teamsters Local 696. The vote will be conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) within the next 30 days.

The 20 cooks, servers, housekeepers, and dishwashers work at the independent living facility’s restaurant. They are the latest in a growing movement of foodservice workers who are organizing nationwide.

“These workers are critical to the residents of Pioneer Ridge, and they deserve respect from their employer. We are honored to be chosen by these workers, and we look forward to winning recognition and negotiating a first union contract,” said Local 696 Secretary-Treasurer Matt Hall.

“We see what’s going on nationally –— at Chipotle, Starbucks, Amazon, Trader Joe’s — and we said, ‘Why not us?’ We work hard. We care deeply about the residents of this community. We deserve a union just as much as anyone else, and we plan on getting one,” said Jonathan Oliva, a Pioneer Ridge employee and member of the Teamsters organizing committee.

Teamsters Local 696 represents workers in a wide variety of industries throughout Northern Kansas, including UPS workers, public employees, school bus drivers, sanitation workers, and more. For more information, go to Teamsters696.com/.

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