They’re employed by Block by Block, a national company contracted by the almost two-year-old Downtown Improvement District.
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| Sam Mukherjee, Brooklyn Center, is one of the Downtown Ambassadors who are new members of SEIU Local 26. Labor Review photo |
The approximately 60 workers in the program became members of Service Employees International Union Local 26 when a majority signed union authorization cards. Their employer agreed to be neutral during the organizing campaign in accord with a “labor peace” provision in the employer’s contract with the Downtown Improvement District.
The DID is a non-profit created by a Minneapolis City Council ordinance. Notably, “the ordinance included a responsible contractor policy,” said SEIU Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea, which ultimately meant that DID contractors like Block by Block would need to remain neutral during a union organizing campaign and enter into a collective bargaining agreement with a union.
“We organized the unit through majority sign-up,” Morillo-Alicea said.
The workers’ new contract became effective July 1. Morillo-Alicea reported that the contract “equaled or improved the standard of both our security contract and our cleaning contract.” Workers with one year of service saw their pay increase from $11.50 per hour to $13.22 per hour. “Workers who got significant raises were quite happy,” Morillo-Alicea noted.
“Now we’ve got to learn to work together as a union and company,” said Michael Jacques, who helped negotiate the contract and now serves as a union steward.
Jacques clearly relishes his work as he patrols the streets of downtown Minneapolis: “You’re making a positive influence in people’s lives.”
Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Learn more at www.minneapolisunions.org
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They’re employed by Block by Block, a national company contracted by the almost two-year-old Downtown Improvement District.
|
| Sam Mukherjee, Brooklyn Center, is one of the Downtown Ambassadors who are new members of SEIU Local 26.
Labor Review photo |
“Our mission is to make downtown a safer, cleaner environment for everybody,” said Michael Jacques, St. Louis Park, one of the “Safety Ambassadors” who began patrolling a 120-block area of downtown last summer.
The approximately 60 workers in the program became members of Service Employees International Union Local 26 when a majority signed union authorization cards. Their employer agreed to be neutral during the organizing campaign in accord with a “labor peace” provision in the employer’s contract with the Downtown Improvement District.
The DID is a non-profit created by a Minneapolis City Council ordinance. Notably, “the ordinance included a responsible contractor policy,” said SEIU Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea, which ultimately meant that DID contractors like Block by Block would need to remain neutral during a union organizing campaign and enter into a collective bargaining agreement with a union.
“We organized the unit through majority sign-up,” Morillo-Alicea said.
The workers’ new contract became effective July 1. Morillo-Alicea reported that the contract “equaled or improved the standard of both our security contract and our cleaning contract.” Workers with one year of service saw their pay increase from $11.50 per hour to $13.22 per hour. “Workers who got significant raises were quite happy,” Morillo-Alicea noted.
“Now we’ve got to learn to work together as a union and company,” said Michael Jacques, who helped negotiate the contract and now serves as a union steward.
Jacques clearly relishes his work as he patrols the streets of downtown Minneapolis: “You’re making a positive influence in people’s lives.”
Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Learn more at www.minneapolisunions.org