Local 70 members at California Waste Ratify New 3 Year Contract

Maintaining a political edge keeps Local 70 members on the job. Recently the franchise agreement for the pickup of residential recycling for the northern portion of the City of Oakland came up for renewal. The franchise agreement which spells out the economic conditions for the contractor who is granted the right to pickup recycling in the City was in jeopardy of going to a non-union company.

Oakland city staff assigned to work on this issue originally recommended that the recyle franchise go out for bid without a prevailing wage requirement. Without prevailing wage, cut rate substandard companies, mostly non-union, would be allowed to bid on the contract. A recommendation from City staff must first go to the City Council for approval, however, it's unusual for the Council to overturn a staff recommendation.

With the franchise in jeopardy Local 70 went into action. Lead by Local 70 Business Representative Odus Hall, Local 70 members at CWS moved to lobby the City Council to maintain the prevailing wage and negotiate a new franchise agreement between the City and California Waste. At Hall's direction, the CWS members attended City Council meetings, visited City Council members in their offices and sought the assistance of the Central Labor Council and other community groups. The lobbying and pressure paid off earlier this year when the City Council overruled city staff and directed them to negotiate a new franchise agreement with the company.

With the franchise agreement safe, the Union moved to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The actions of the Union being primarily responsible for keeping the company in place, the Union demanded a good settlement. The new three year contract retained the CPI (consumer price index) adjustment for wages with the driver getting a $1.00 wage increase in the first year. In addition to the sizeable wage increase, the contract provides a maintenance of benefits clause on the base health care plan as well as the Retiree Security Plan (RSP). “CWS was first organized in 1999. The Union has really changed out lives;” said shop steward Luis Acevedo. “We have gone from low wages and benefits to some of the highest in the county;” Acevedo said.

“Being able to deliver politically put us in a good position to get a fantastic agreement;” said Business Agent Odus Hall. “With the health care and retiree health care being the most impressive.”