Workers Win Voice with AFL-CIO Unions
Emergency medical workers, massage therapists, bus mechanics and home health care workers are among the latest workers to choose a voice on the job with AFL-CIO unions.
In California and Arizona, some 240 emergency medical services professionals voted recently to join United EMS Workers-AFSCME .
Employees of First Responder EMS in Sacramento, Calif., won their election with 76% of the vote. EMTs at River Medical Ambulance-AMR in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., voted 90% in favor of AFSCME.
Crystal Forschen, a paramedic at First Responder EMS, says:
We’re standing together because we want EMS to be seen as a real profession, not just a stepping stone. The way we get it done is by having a strong, democratic and accountable union.
More than 3,000 workers in Northern California and New England joined United EMS Workers last year .
In Seattle, licensed massage practitioners at Massage Bar Inc. voted to join Office and Professional Employees ( OPEIU ) Local 8 . The 40 employees work at Sea-Tac Airport and the Washington Convention Center. Tom Tanouye, a 17-year employee, says:
We lack the basic benefits many health professionals enjoy, like access to affordable health care or paid sick leave. We hope to work in partnership with management to make improvements that will benefit employees and the company.
Earlier this year, Massage Bar employees at Sacramento International Airport voted to join OPEIU.
Workers at Reliable Home Health Care Services in Greensboro, N.C., joined Communications Workers of America ( CWA ) Local 3607. The 37 certified nursing assistants and home health care workers won their union after they and Local 3607 President Chris Myrick negotiated a majority sign-up agreement with the employer.
More than two dozen diesel bus mechanics at the Delaware Transit Corp. voted to join Electrical Workers ( IBEW) Local 2270. The workers reached out to the union after one of their longtime workers was unfairly fired.
Steve Rockafellow, IBEW regional organizing coordinator, says, “All of a sudden, the guys said, ‘Maybe we aren’t as secure as we thought we were.’”
Read a detailed account of the victory here .
