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| Stanley workers celebrate in Vermont |
UE was the big winner on the first day of union representation elections among nearly a thousand workers in Vermont and California whose wages and working conditions came under attack when a new federal contractor took over their workplaces.
In a 51-to-31 vote, workers employed by Choctaw Archiving resoundingly chose UE in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) supervised election held January 31st. Following the ballot count, cheering workers left the voting site at City Hall chanting the name of their new union.
The campaign has been followed closely by the Vermont media. This week the local newspaper, the St. Albans Messenger, endorsed the union campaign in an editorial. Earlier, the campaign received significant support from area community and political leaders, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT.
The Choctaw vote established that there will be a union at the St. Albans facility. It overshadowed a vote among a smaller group of workers, employed by Federal Working Group, who voted 12 to 8 to remain non-union. UE is investigating reports of strong-armed and possibly illegal tactics used by that employer prior to that election.
WAGE, BENEFIT CUTS SPARK CAMPAIGN
Six subsequent elections will decide how many additional workers in Vermont and California will be included when UE begins bargaining for improvements in wages and conditions. The unusual multi-group election is tied together by work performed for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), which contracts with each employer for data entry and clerical work. Stanley and Associates acts as the lead contractor for the group.
Approximately 100 Northrop Grumman workers will decide tomorrow on UE representation, while a final group in St. Albans, employed directly by Stanley and Associates, awaits an election date not yet set by the NLRB. Meanwhile, four additional groups of workers in California are also awaiting election dates.
A $2 an hour wage cut imposed by Stanley when it took over operations in early December sparked the organizing drive, bringing workers together to defend their wages as well as sudden cuts in their sick and personal days and vacation time. A top Stanley executive's comment about the cuts was reportedly, "Get Over It!" — a comment which inspired one campaign slogan, "We're UE. GET OVER IT!"
In all, more than 1,000 workers, mostly women, are employed at the two service centers in St. Albans, VT, and Laguna Niguel, CA.