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A small team of 15 drivers based in Maryland with Ryder Transportation Solutions voted for unionization August 25 in a 10-5 vote.
The workers, who distribute Hill’s pet food along the East Coast and are based in Elkridge, were motivated to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for a stronger voice on the job, according to the union.
“I would say that gaining a voice on the job was their number one goal,” Teamsters spokesman Scott Chismar said, adding that unilateral changes by management without crew input upset many workers.
Chrismar, the union’s business agent and organizer, also told Trucking Dive that workers had previously considered forming a union, but held off after receiving assurances from management.
The Union only pushes a portion of Ryder’s workforce
RTS’s parent company, South Florida-based transportation and logistics provider Ryder System, has faced several union votes this year, both for and against collective bargaining changes.
Drivers at a Ryder Transportation Solutions location in San Diego voted 9-2 in June to be represented by the Teamsters.
But Ryder Truck Rental technicians and service workers at an election in West Allis, Wis., in March rejected on an 8-1 vote to be represented by the International Union of Mechanical Engineers and Aerospace Workers.
In the meantime, 25 Employees at Ryder Integrated Logistics at a General Motors facility in Wentzville, Missouri, including dock workers and customer logistics specialists, can vote by mail to join the United Auto Workers through Sept. 21.
Union members represent a fraction of Ryder’s total workforce. At the end of last year, Ryder had about 48,300 full-time employees, including 10,800 drivers and 4,800 technicians, according to annual report filed in February.
The company said about 3,700 of its hourly employees are members of unions through 96 labor agreements, primarily with the Teamsters, United Auto Workers and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the report said.
Workers who tend to support unions
Meanwhile, National Labor Relations Board data collected from Assistant Professor Kevin Reuning of Ohio-based Miami University pointed to a long-standing trend of workers choosing to form unions more than opposing them.
Since 2014, workers have moved to have collective bargaining at twice the rate that they have voted against endorsing unions. Instead, this was more evenly split in the early stages.
“I think a lot of that comes from the pandemic situation where a lot of these workers … could really rely on each other,” Reuning said. “And they were, they’re told they were front-line workers and incredibly important, and then they didn’t always feel that way. That combined with a tighter labor market always helps the organization.”
Businesses’ approaches to solving labor issues could be responsible for the shift in recent years. Chismar said employers have changed tactics to make the case to workers against unions.
“Maybe in the past there’s been a walkout or a captive audience meeting or two,” he said, adding that businesses have stepped up efforts in the past two or three years to solidify anti-union votes.