Silicon Valley Bus Drivers Vote to Join Teamsters Union

104-38 in favor of joining the Teamsters union. This follows a similar vote in November, where Facebook drivers also voted in the affirmative to join the Teamsters. And more moves may follow soon, as Teamsters has claimed to continue its efforts to woo Silicon Valley bus drivers into unionizing.

Quotes from Teamsters Local 853 secretary-treasurer Rome Aloise suggest that bus drivers from Apple, Yahoo, and the other companies mentioned above could stand to see their wages increase from $5 to $9.50 per hour, and get other benefits such as overtime pay. He added that the move could potentially result in cheaper health care and pensions for the drivers who most recently voted to unionize. The Facebook drivers approved a union contract earlier in the month that will have them earning a number of new benefits aside from higher hourly wages, such as health insurance and paid time off.

Drivers were largely happy with the decision, as many expressed a positive outlook for the future. “The result was exactly what we thought it would be: a landslide,” said Yahoo bus driver Tracy Kelley in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. “People want change, and they knew it wasn’t going to happen any other way.” And while most of the companies involved declined, or were not immediately available to comment, a Genentech representative told CBS San Francisco that the company “respect(s) whatever decision is made by the drivers.”

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