Hudson News workers at Rochester airport form union
to make lives better.
New members ratify their first contract
Hudson News workers at the Rochester airport joined together recently
to form a union to make their lives better and have just ratified
their first contract, Board manager Gary Bonadonna announced.
“I know that all of our members join me in welcoming the Hudson
News workers into the Joint Board,” Bonadonna said. “Our
Board has been known in labor circles for decades as giving first-class
representation to our members, and I promise that our new Hudson
News members will get that same level of service, too,” Bonadonna
added.
Organizing director Jason Crane, who led the campaign along with
organizer Jesse Lenne, said, “These workers come from Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Somalia, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Laos,
Turkey and the United States. They speak different languages, but
they’re united in their decision to stand up for themselves
and work together to make their lives better.”
The group’s first contract features wage hikes totaling 90¢
an hour over the three-year term of the pact, business rep and chief
negotiator Greg Laskowski announced. All of the 35 full- and part-time
workers will get at least a 30¢ an hour increase the first
year of the agreement, and those who had been at minimum wage will
get as much as 85¢ an hour.
For the first time workers will also have a pension, with the company
contributing 10¢ an hour in the first and second years and
15¢ an hour in the third year, Laskowski noted.
The new union members will also get an additional paid holiday,
bringing their total to seven. Medical coverage will remain unchanged
but it includes a provision for members to convert to Amalgamated
Insurance if the rates for current coverage go too high.
Laskowski stressed that he is “pleased at what we’ve
been able to achieve in this initial contract, but, more importantly,
so are the members.” The business rep said the agreement “sets
a solid base to build on in the future.” Laskowski also emphasized
“the important role the negotiating committee played in getting
this contract. I’m very proud of the professionalism and leadership
they showed.”
Besides Laskowski, those on the committee included Lenne and new
union members Sahra Ibrahim and Meskerem Gebreyes. Laskowski noted
that Lenne played a key role in helping to bring the workers into
the union. Crane said UNITE HERE was able to secure card check neutrality
agreements with Hudson News at the Rochester, Newark, La-Guardia,
JFK and BWI airports “because of the strength of our members
at existing airport units in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. As a
result, some 1,200 Hudson News workers joined UNITE HERE in 2006.
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