Organizing News Stories you'll find on this page: Local 117 Organizing Activities Organizing Fliers

LOCAL 117 ORGANIZING ACTIVITIES

Fred Meyer
A group of thirty-one janitors at a Fred Meyer warehouse in Puyallup has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board requesting to join forces with Teamsters Local 117.

Having a Union is about having a voice in the workplace,” said Missy Orlan, a 2-year employee with the company and one of the leaders of the group. “Most of our co-workers in the warehouse are all with Local 117. We decided that we wanted to have the same rights and protections that they have.”

The janitors’ decision to organize has been greeted enthusiastically by the Teamsters at Fred Meyer. In a show of solidarity with the janitors, hundreds of Local 117 members in the warehouse wore stickers that read, “We support the janitors – 100%” after the group filed its petition with the NLRB.

Longtime Teamster Tim Kirby talked about why the support for the janitors is so strong. “We’re all striving for the same thing – job security for ourselves and our families. My message to the janitors is to stand strong, stay positive, and vote yes on election day,” Kirby said. An NLRB election is currently scheduled for June 3, 2009.


King County
In addition to the organizing at Fred Meyer, Local 117 has been actively organizing in the public sector.

• The Supervisors in King County Transit are now under a Teamsters 117 contract. They left their association seeking more efficient representation.
• The Professional and Technical employees in King County DNRP are now under a Teamsters 117 contract.
• Currently in negotiations for a first time contract are King County Transit Mangers and Transit Administrators.
• Managers in King County Waste Water are currently wrapping up their first negotiations for a Teamsters contract, as is a small group of previously unrepresented Waste Water Supervisors.
• Newly certified and preparing for negotiations are the employees at King County Waste Water Capacity Charge, as are the King County Business and Finance Officers in Wastewater.

Two other King County groups, the Wastewater Supervisors and the Transit Staff, are seeking to change representation from the Technical Employees Association (TEA) to Teamsters Local 117. A majority of employees in both groups have petitioned the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) to leave TEA for Local 117, but TEA is using Unfair Labor Practice charges to stall the elections regarding change in representation.

Marilyn Toth of the Transit Staff cited the reason her group wants to be represented by Local 117. “My co-workers and I want to be represented by a professional Union with a full-time staff working solely for the membership,” she said.

Back to top of page

NEW ORGANIZING FLIERS!
Click on images to download full-sized PDF versions

		SPANISH Version Fliers Why Join The Teamsters Our Rights Respect In Writing
Back to top of page