[act-ma] 6/30 ALL OUT SOLIDARITY DAY 3 - BOSTON SCHOOL BUS UNION USW 8751

[iacboston at iacboston.org]

CLICK HERE < http://bostonschoolbus5.org/solidarityday3 >
 to view in your browser PLEASE POST WIDELY!

ALL OUT! SOLIDARITY DAY 3 WITH THE BOSTON SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS USW 8751

MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014 6 PM VEOLIA FREEPORT ST BUS YARD DORCHESTER AVE
AND HOYT ST., DORCHESTER, MA.

SAY NO TO TAKE-BACKS AND COMPANY CONCESSION DEMANDS

REINSTATE THE UNJUSTLY FIRED UNION LEADERS

SAFETY FOR THE CHILDREN, CONTRACT JUSTICE FOR THE DRIVERS!

STOP VEOLIA UNION BUSTING KEEP MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ON THE BUS

Download front of flyer (Solidarity Day)
< http://bostonschoolbus5.org/downloads/Soldaritylll-June30.pdf >
 and back of flyer (Labor appeal)
<
http://bostonschoolbus5.org/downloads/BBD-June-30-Solidarity-Day-Appeal-Letter-with-signatures.pdf
>

<http://bostonschoolbus5.org/>
 < http://bostonschoolbus5.org/ >


Labor & Community Stand with USW L. 8751School Bus Union
SOLIDARITY DAY

MON􀁠JUNE 30􀁠6PM

FREEPORT BUS YARD
Gather at corner of Dorchester Ave. & Hoyt St.􀁦Outside Veolia Corporation

REINSTATE
The Fired Leaders

SPONSORED BY UNITED STEELWORKERS INTERNATIONAL
THE BOSTON SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS’ UNION USW LOCAL 8751

ALL OUT

Endorsers:

Steven Tolman, President., Mass. AFL-CIO*
Rich Rogers, Exec. Secr. Treasurer,
Greater Boston Labor Council*
Myles Calvey, Business Mngr.,
IBEW Local 2222*
John Shinn, Dir. of District 4, USW*
Johnnie McGinnis, BEAM Black
Educators Alliance of MA.
Charles Clemons, Fndr. Touch Radio 106.1
Coalition for Equal Quality Education
Minister Don Muhammad,
Nation of Islam Mosque 11
Former City Councillor Chuck Turner
Boston Councilor Charles Yancey;
Mel King
International Action Center
Women’s Fightback Network,
Stonewall Warriors

* for identification purposes

USW Local 8751 - District 4
Boston School Bus Drivers’ Union
25 Colgate Rd.  Roslindale, MA 02131
Telephone (617) 524-7073 Fax (617) 524-1691

June 11, 2014

RE: Appeal to the Labor Movement to Support the Boston School Bus Drivers’ Union

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We are writing to ask for your support and solidarity in a most critical battle
against the Veolia corporation’s union busting
war on USW Local 8751. It is a vital fight to protect union rights and defend
the fired leaders of Boston School Bus Union, USW
8751 - Vice President and Pension Administrator Steven Gillis; Recording
Secretary and Charlestown Chief Steward Andre Francois;
Steward and former 3-term president Garry Murchison; and Grievance Chair and
founding member Stevan Kirschbaum. We are
organizing for a Day of Solidarity on Monday, June 30, at 6:00pm at Veolia’s
corporate offices, 35 Freeport Way, Dorchester,
MA. Labor and Community must stand together as one to serve notice to Veolia
that we will not allow union busting in Boston!

How you can help:

1) Please join us in our campaign to drive union busting out of Boston. Endorse
and Organize your members for “Solidarity
Day”, June 30, 2014. Please spread the word widely.

2) Invite the four to your membership meeting to expose the facts of Veolia’s
anti-unionism.

3) Write or call Veolia Transportation’s General Manager, Alex Roman, III,
demanding he reinstate the fired leaders and honor the
union contract. alexander.roman at veoliatransdev.com (617) 780-4840

Veolia, a French based global conglomerate, has a trail of union busting and
corporate ruthlessness around the world. Veolia
businesses include transportation, energy, environmental, water and more. In
transportation alone, Veolia has waged anti-union
campaigns against bus drivers from San Francisco (SEIU 1021 and ATU 1555) to
Phoenix (ATU 1433); from Pensacola (ATU 1395)
to Las Vegas (ATU 1637); and from Baltimore (UFCW 1994) to Denver (CWA 7777).
Veolia’s standard tactics are to low bid city
management contracts, then force concessions and cutbacks in clear violation of
the existing union contracts. When the workers and
their unions resist, they threaten, harass, discipline and fire the union
leaders and activists.

Despite signing an agreement to honor all terms and conditions of the USW 8751
contract on June 18, 2013, since Veolia
took over management of the Boston School Bus transportation on July 1, 2013,
they blatantly and systematically violated nearly
every article regarding wages, benefits and working conditions. At the same
time, they repudiated the established grievance and
arbitration procedures. From July to June, the union has filed hundreds of
individual and class action grievances. In August, the
Steelworkers filed 18 Unfair Labor Practices charges with the National Labor
Relations Board. On October 7th the company
attempted to force the drivers to fill out new hire applications. The members
also knew that due to the Federal Government shutdown
at the time, they had no redress available. This was the straw that broke the
camel’s back.

On the morning of October 8th the drivers reported to work and demanded a
meeting with Veolia, whose top management as
well as BPS officials were on site at the bus yards, concerning the company’s
total failure to honor the contract. They refused for
hours; then at 11:00 am, the company locked the gates and evicted the drivers
under threat of arrest for trespassing. The workers’
request for a meeting is protected concerted union activity, and the company’s
lockout was not only a violation of the contract but of
federal law. There never was a wild cat strike. This allegation was a cruel hoax
perpetrated against the Union by Veolia, with the aid
of former Mayor Menino and his School Department and the Boston media. When
Boston City Council called a hearing to investigate
the events of October the 8th,Veolia, the Menino’s administration and Boston
Public School officials boycotted. The City Council has
vowed to continue the investigation. Veolia, in a clear attack on the
organizational backbone of the union, singled out the four union
leaders for firing. They have been out since the first week of November.

Meanwhile BPS has initiated a massive austerity cutback campaign that calls for
kicking middle school students off the
yellow school bus as well as reduction in union staff and services throughout
the system which will not only jeopardize equal quality
education but will e liminate union jobs!

All Out for June 30th in Dorchester!

Dumond Louis, President, USW 8751

Steven A. Tolman, President, MA AFL-CIO

John E. Shinn, Director, District 4, USW

Andrew Slipp, Dist 4 Staff Rep., USW

Richard Rogers, Executive ST, Greater Boston Labor Council

Myles Calvey, Business Manager, IBEW 2222