Published 17 Jan, 2012
On December 10, Hyundai Rotem workers at the South Philadelphia railcar plant ratified a first contract by an 88 percent margin. The contract, negotiated by a team led by President John Johnson, Jr., established job security, a grievance procedure, and included gains in wages and benefits.
As International Rep. Jerome LaFragola, who has bargained numerous first contracts, said at the ratification meeting, “This is better than good…it establishes a framework for going forward.”
The contract came after a long struggle to establish the union and win respect for Hyundai workers. After winning their NLRB election in August 2010, the union had to overcome poor working conditions, worker frustration with bargaining delays and disrespectful treatment by management. The lack of drinking water in the summer heat prompted a walk out in June. In December 2010, just before Christmas, nice workers were fired without just cause. The union filed a case with the NLRB winning back their jobs with $95,000 in full back pay.
The biggest obstacle to overcome in ratifying the contract was the peculiar employment structure at the plant. TTAP, a contractor in the mass transit and railcar business, supplied workers to Hyundai. Under the terms of the contracting agreement, Hyundai-Rotem workers would be laid off when the SEPTA contract to build Silverliner rail cars is completed in late 2010. Once completed, the workers could not be rehired by Hyundai for at least a year.
This was resolved by Hyundai-Rotem, paying over a million dollars to TTAP to gain the right to continue employing the existing workers. TTAP no longer will be in the collective bargaining picture at the plant.
Attorney Clay Newlin, who helped negotiate the contract called this “a huge victory.”
Without it all the workers would have lost their jobs before the end of 2012.
Contract highlights are:
Job Security: Besides the resolution of the problem with TTAP, the contract requires the return of eight categories of work transferred to other employees and a clause that insures the union and the contract stay in place if the plant is moved within a 50 mile radius.
Wages: Wages will be increased over the 3 year life of the contract by 13.3% to 16% with lowest paid workers getting the biggest increases. To compensate for the absence of past increases a ratification bonus of 3% of gross earnings in 2011 is included in the deal. Overtime for over 40 hours worked or paid for and shift deferential pay round out the picture.
Health Coverage: Premiums for company supplied health insurance were cut substantially, more than halved for single coverage and cut by a third for full family coverage. Four paid sick days have been added and a safety committee created.
Vacations and Pensions: An additional personal day and holiday, pay for up to 5 days of Jury duty, up to 5 days of additional vacation and a 401K pension plan with an employer match.
Due Process and Dignity: A grievance procedure including arbitration, defined job classifications, a no discrimination clause, layoffs by seniority with an 18 month right of recall. Discipline can only be for just cause and with the record wiped clean after 18 months for routine offenses.
(For a more detailed summary and a before and after comparison visit the Local 234 website.)
Most workers at the ratification meeting saw the contract as a big step forward, citing the job security gains and the foundation for bringing improved wages and conditions as their grounds for support. Damar Jones, a mechanical engineer on the interior team, said, “We were on the bottom and it can only get better from this point on.” Darren Burke, who works on under floor wiring, added, “I’m good with it. I’ll have my job when the SEPTA contract runs out.”
A few workers voiced dissatisfaction with the wage gains. Negotiating Committee members all acknowledged that workers deserved more but pointed to the costs of the TTA buy out and the hostile climate for collective bargaining in today’s economy as limiting factors. Clay Newlin pointed out that the contract represented a 26 percent increase in overall compensation. “You show me any contract over the last few years that accomplished that,” he added. Angelique Long, a shop rep on the committee, was optimistic that with the contract in place, wages could be addressed in the next contract. “We’ll come together and continue to build on this,” she said.
After an open discussion and a question and answer session where all the members present had the opportunity to review the agreement and share their thoughts on it, both pro and con, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement.
At the end of the meeting workers eagerly lined up to get TWU 234 t-shirts. Rob Golden, who got a job at Hyundai Rotem in February after being unemployed for two and half years, expressed his satisfaction. “I’ve talked to a lot of people in other unions. They all say stick with the TWU.”
For a short video with highlights of the meeting go to the Local 234 website.