Syracuse University Parking and Transit Services employees joined the Teamsters Union after a 24-20 vote last Friday at Hendricks Chapel. The decision makes the Teamsters the fourth union to which campus employees belong.

Data coordinators, office coordinators, parking control officers and parking lot attendants – both full time and part time – make up the 45 parking services employees who were eligible to vote. The employees have tried to join the Teamsters since 2002, but their progress stalled because of issues with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), said Jack Matson, SU director of staff relations and recruitment.

‘The Teamsters represent 1.4 million working men and women in virtually every occupation throughout the United States and Canada,’ according to the union’s Web site. The Teamsters was founded in 1903 and is now the largest trade union in North America. Local unions join the Teamsters to receive protection from the global organization, which they could not achieve on their own.

Matson said he was not aware of any specific motives to join the union.

‘We really think SU’s a great place to work,’ Matson said. ‘We’ve got really a good place to work, good pay, good benefits. We’ve got a safe working environment, we’re one of the larger employers in the community and we’re certainly pretty stable.’

The presence of a new labor union on campus will have a minimal effect on the university community, Matson said.

‘Generally speaking, these issues don’t really have a lot of visibility or a lot of impact on campus,’ Matson said. ‘If everyone is doing their job and we’re focused on the issues and working at resolving the issues, it should be business as usual.’

The NLRB has until Friday to certify the elections. At that time, the union will make a request to open negotiations and set up a schedule to meet regularly with the university.

‘It’s always our intent to bargain in good faith,’ Matson said. ‘Until we hit the negotiation table, we’re not sure what this group of employees would be asking for.’

Parking services employees did not want to comment for this article.

A local Teamsters representative was unavailable. But Leslie Miller, communications coordinator of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said the union is pleased to welcome the SU employees.

‘We’re committed to bargaining for strong contracts that provide good wages and secure futures for our members,’ Miller said.

According to the Teamsters’ Constitution, local unions agree ‘to subordinate some of their individual independence in order to obtain services, support and expertise which none alone could provide but which all could obtain through coordinated action by the International Union.’

Matson is confident about the future relationship between SU and the union.

‘Where we have unions, we always seek to build the best, strongest collaborative relationships we can,’ he said.

Published on October 3, 2007 at 12:00 pm