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SJSU custodians join Teamsters
Union to clean up 'at-will' status
Tara Duffy
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
The custodians at SJSU will join San Jose's Teamsters union after a 13-10 vote early Friday morning.
Frank Harms, Jr., a Teamsters representative, said that up until then, the custodians didn't have representation nor contracts and were considered at-will employees.
An at-will employee is someone who has signed a contract stating his or her employer does not need any reasonable cause to terminate the employee.
Pat Lopes Harris, SJSU's media relations specialist, said she did not feel that the university should be responsible for giving a reaction about the issue because the custodians are not directly employed by it.
According to Harms, Aramark, a professional services company, employs the custodians.
"We want to give them better wages, a voice, especially the women, as well as the men," said Stacy Alvelais, a Teamsters representative.
"We wanted to give them a voice in the workplace," she said.
One SJSU student felt that unions help protect employees' rights.
"I think unions are good," said Perry Uzunoglu, a second year animation illustration major. "The workers get to work together to protect themselves. Otherwise they would have to fight individually."
"It feels excellent to join the Teamsters union," said Pascuel Hernandez de Ventura, a custodian at SJSU, through a translator. "It makes me more motivated than before. Before, (with) the political atmosphere in the business, it was very difficult to speak your mind. But now, we can vote. Plus, the benefits are nice."
According to the Teamsters' Web site, there are 1.4 million members in the United States. The Teamsters union includes laundry, bakery, warehouse and waste management workers, among other occupations.
Harms said joining the Teamsters would be beneficial to the custodians because "they didn't have anything on paper. If they have a contract, they can know what days of the week they will have off. If they have a problem, they can call their business representative to help them."
Frank Harms, Jr., a Teamsters representative, said that up until then, the custodians didn't have representation nor contracts and were considered at-will employees.
An at-will employee is someone who has signed a contract stating his or her employer does not need any reasonable cause to terminate the employee.
Pat Lopes Harris, SJSU's media relations specialist, said she did not feel that the university should be responsible for giving a reaction about the issue because the custodians are not directly employed by it.
According to Harms, Aramark, a professional services company, employs the custodians.
"We want to give them better wages, a voice, especially the women, as well as the men," said Stacy Alvelais, a Teamsters representative.
"We wanted to give them a voice in the workplace," she said.
One SJSU student felt that unions help protect employees' rights.
"I think unions are good," said Perry Uzunoglu, a second year animation illustration major. "The workers get to work together to protect themselves. Otherwise they would have to fight individually."
"It feels excellent to join the Teamsters union," said Pascuel Hernandez de Ventura, a custodian at SJSU, through a translator. "It makes me more motivated than before. Before, (with) the political atmosphere in the business, it was very difficult to speak your mind. But now, we can vote. Plus, the benefits are nice."
According to the Teamsters' Web site, there are 1.4 million members in the United States. The Teamsters union includes laundry, bakery, warehouse and waste management workers, among other occupations.
Harms said joining the Teamsters would be beneficial to the custodians because "they didn't have anything on paper. If they have a contract, they can know what days of the week they will have off. If they have a problem, they can call their business representative to help them."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Elma Arredondo
posted 5/12/08 @ 11:03 AM PST
This article needs clarification. The majority of campus custodians at SJSU are represented by the California State Employees Association, SEIU Local 2579. (Continued…)
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