San Jose Recycling drivers allege union breakdown

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SAN JOSE, CA – Construction drivers who clean up some of San Jose’s major development projects say they don’t ask for much – they just want safe working conditions and their full wages paid.

Drivers from Premier Recycling Company said their demands were not met and contract negotiations had stalled since September. Ramon Castillo, a union leader at the East San Jose construction debris haulage and recycling company, thinks it’s because management is more interested in breaking up the union than meeting with workers halfway. path. Drivers have also raised concerns about safety and claims of wage theft, tampering with union votes, unwarranted surveillance and a general environment of hostility, among other unfair labor practices – and this has drawn the attention of some city leaders.

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“Since we unionized last year, they’ve tried everything to make sure this is the only year we have it,” Castillo told San Jose Spotlight. “And if they manage to get rid of it, we are all fired as soon as possible.”

With a workforce of less than 100, the family-owned company has contracted with local governments and prolific developers to help bring major Bay Area developments to life, from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara to Santana Row and at Terminal B of San Jose Mineta International Airport.

Castillo is one of 20 company drivers who haul construction materials from key development sites. The drivers voted to join Teamsters Local 853 last year after allegations of pay issues and unsafe working conditions went unaddressed. In July, the drivers will have to vote again to keep their union.

Castillo believes management is intentionally blocking negotiations to convince employees that the union is ineffective. He said the company even waived some existing practices — like grievance policies that address safety and labor issues — preventing them from reaching an agreement. He also alleges that the company hires independent contractors as full-time employees and potentially hires new drivers so that there are enough votes to decertify the union.

“We haven’t even started talking about salaries or economic benefits,” Castillo said. “They are stalling, adding surprise offers during the negotiations and even the mediators have said that some of these offers seem racist.”

For example, the company has proposed adding audio functionality to driver’s dash cameras to ensure employees don’t engage in criminal activity, the proposal says. They also proposed adding a mandatory fitness test for drivers. Failure of these tests may result in termination.

“Some of these ridiculous proposals they pulled because they know it can’t last,” Castillo said. “But that’s just one of their delaying tactics.”

Company muscle

Owners Rocky Hill and his son, Brock, hired Burdzinski & Partners Inc., a federal labor practice firm, to help with the negotiations. The company openly writes on its website that it helps “make unorganized companies unattractive to unions by setting up roadblocks and other obstacles, thereby rendering unions unnecessary.”

Rocky and Brock Hill did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Burdzinski & Partners Inc. executives were not immediately available for comment.

Since the drivers unionized, the company has added security cameras to the break room where employees change into uniforms, placed tow signs where drivers would park their trucks, and other dodge tactics. ‘intimidation.

“They even wrote on the donuts they brought to the office that everyone could have one except the drivers,” Alex Obeso, another union official, told San Jose Spotlight. “They even went so far as to ask the whole company, apart from the drivers, to wear shirts saying you’re selfish to unionize.”

The union also hired a lawyer who discovered that the company was deducting 30 minutes of pay when a driver worked 10 or more hours a day, even if he hadn’t taken a second lunch break, which is known as the name of wage theft.

The negotiations also caught the attention of the San Jose City Council.

Council member Peter Ortiz hand-delivered a letter, co-signed by council members Omar Torres and Domingo Candelas, to the owners on March 23. The letter asks them to negotiate in good faith and to obey the law.

“For people who live in my district, a union can mean the difference in putting food on the table or being able to pay medical bills or even having your medical coverage for your children,” Ortiz said in San Jose. spotlight. “During labor negotiations, management always has the upper hand, so I want to do everything I can to make sure management knows that in the city of San Jose, we care about how workers are treated. .”

Ortiz also sent another letter on April 27 to support the drivers if they choose to strike. Castillo said the potential for a strike is definitely on the table.

“They try to bully us, but it’s been a year and we’ve stayed strong,” Castillo said. “We will remain united and strong.”

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