Ramp agents working for Swissport voted to become members of Teamsters Local 120. The 114 ramp agents, who are responsible for handling baggage, join Swissport aircraft fuelers that are already represented by the union at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Local 120 represents more than 11,500 members in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Not surprisingly, wages, health care, turnover and safety were the main issues workers cited as their reasons for joining. Improvement on these issues might be improved by negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.
The Teamsters claim that despite the desire to join the union, the organizing committee faced an uphill battle: management hung up an anti-Teamster poster in the break room and held anti-union meetings. The restricted nature of the airport tarmac – for security and anti-terrorist reasons – made it difficult for organizers to access the workplace.
Aircraft fuelers played a key role in persuading their coworkers to join. Local 120 obtained a permit to access the airport, and many volunteer organizers from US Foods reached out to the ramp agents to tell them what to expect from management after they had filed for an election.
“Our members from US Foods experienced a campaign where they faced many of the same challenges in terms of an anti-union campaign, and they ended up with a positive outcome,” said Lovinsky Ricard, a Local 120 organizer. “That’s what we want for our newest members.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
