Bus drivers who work every day in the Silicon Valley for very famous and prosperous companies such as Apple, Yahoo Zynga, Genentech and eBay have gathered on Friday to protest against the ones who pay them too little but make them work too much. The workers also voted in San Francisco and San Jose in order to enter the Teamsters Union.
The votes for the Teamsters Union were 104-38, and 16 of those who were present didn’t cast ballots. This kind of voting has happened also in November, when drivers from Facebook brought up their wish of being part of the Teamsters too. Most probably, this move will succeed in bringing into the team more and more drivers in the Silicon Valley who have the intention of unionizing. This particular Union has the exact purpose of helping with their interests: supporting drivers that are underpaid and overworked, on the basis of growth in that area.
Tacey Kelley, a compass driver, has stated that:
“We need wages commensurate with what it costs to live in this area, but it’s not just about wages.”
The unfair compensation and payment refers to the overtime work that doesn’t raise the price of normal hours as much as it has to and the 14-hours days that seem not to be treated at the right value. Also, the drivers believe that there should be more rest areas that offer the drivers certain conditions. The drivers, who all work for Compass Transportation, would also like to afford living in the same areas of neighborhoods as their passengers do, in order for them to easily pick them up in the morning. Unfortunately, their salary doesn’t allow them to pay for such an expensive rent, and as a consequence they have to travel more to arrive at work. Tracy Kelley has given a personal example related to the issue; she leaves her home at 6 AM so that she can begin the workday and isn’t able to arrive back home until after 8 PM.
However, not all drivers that work in the Silicon Valley are treated the same. Some of those who are employees of Google, Yahoo and Facebook are able to experience the luxury of living and working in a comfortable place, but some of them don’t receive the same benefits even if they share the work space. Janitors, food service workers and security workers are treated differently because they are employed by a third-party firm to work on the Silicon Valley. They can work but they can’t touch Silicone Valley’s finest, and bus drivers are part of this category also. The 14-hours shifts of the Silicon Valley bus drivers are often paid like a normal 8-hour shift in a singular day.
Image Source: The Beacon Review