Bus drivers from Loop Transportation that ferry Facebook employees to and from work announced Wednesday that they have voted to join the Teamsters union, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Bob Strelo, the president of the local, stated that eight-seven drivers from the San Francisco company Loop Transportation will be joining Teamsters Local 853 after a majority vote of 43 drivers for and 28 against.
Loop Transportation are contracted with Facebook to take their employees to and from the company's headquarters in Menlo Park. However, complaints have arisen from the drivers over long days, split shifts that ended up making them take unpaid breaks, and low wages.
The chief executive of Loop Transportation, Jeff Leonoudakis, said in an email that "Eventhough we don't feel that our drivers' interests are best served by union representation, our drivers have spoken."
Leonoudakis has also stated he was proud of the services they offered to their drivers, according to USA Today.
According to Leonoudakis , Loop paid their employees hourly wages that range from $17 to $25, offered full medical benefits, vacations and sick days and also annual hourly pay increases and bonuses based on the individual's performance.
The drivers, however, have different views, saying they were paid between $18 to $20 for ferrying workers who earned more than them with six-figure salaries. They have told USA Today that they were not compensated for working marathon days, experienced tough working conditions, and had to resort to sleeping in their cars between shifts.
Drivers that are part of the union spoke out through the Teamsters website.
Demaurae Hooston said, "The only way that Loop will listen to us is with a union and a collective voice. I'm very relieved that we have that now," while Cliff Doi said, "We can't continue 16-hour days, having drivers sleeping in the cold in their cars while we wait five hours to be able to start our next shift. It's inhumane."
"These companies need to step up and stop demanding the lowest bid contract. They need to all agree to pay their contractors an amount that allows the union to negotiate for decent wages and benefits," said Rome Aloise, the International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 853. "We're ready to get to work at Loop to help these drivers better their lives and the conditions they face at work - to get them some justice."
