Transportation and Cemetery Workers Join CWA in Seattle and Omaha

Attacks on labor haven't stopped workers at even the smallest employers from wanting union representation, as evidenced by successful organizing drives at MV Transportation in Seattle and Westlawn Cemetery in Omaha, Neb.

At MV Transportation, concerns about wages and working conditions led administrative support employees to vote 5-2 to join CWA Local 7800, which already represents 375 drivers, dispatchers, utility and payroll workers at the company. Now nearly 100 percent of the workforce is CWA. The local organized its first 30 workers at the company six years ago, when MV Transportation was the shuttle service for Microsoft employees.

Low pay, safety and arbitrary work rules were the reasons that groundskeepers and equipment operators decided to organize with CWA Local 7290 at Westlawn Cemetery in Omaha. All six workers signed a union petition and remained united despite the company's all-out effort to stop them. Westlawn stalled the election, then brought in managers and executives from other locations to pressure workers not to organize. The final vote was 5-1.