by Isabel Castro Messengers,
New York Amsterdam News, November 26, 1994
The opening salvo in the battle to unionize messengers in our town tookplace last Friday. The results of the National Labor Relations Board-ledcollective bargaining election, involving Teamsters Local 840 at the OrbitLightspeed Courier Systems, showed 89 votes for the union, 89 against,with eight challenged, still unopened ballots.
Joel LeFevre, secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters local, told the AmsterdamNews that he is "optimistic" that the union will win when theNLRB rules on the challenged ballots. He added that in any case the industrywideorganizing campaign will continue.
Also, the Teamsters filed with the NLRB charges of unfair labor practices,including threats by Orbit management of murder and physical harm, deportationof undocumented workers, reincarceration of ex-inmates on work release,firings and "other outrages."
Messengers are among the most exploited and unprotected category ofworkers in New York City. In recent weeks their efforts to organize hasdrawn the support of Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke to them on the streetsof New York and at a union rally, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who senta letter to Orbit messengers encouraging them to vote union.
Last June a messenger walked into the offices of the 1,300 clericaland service-member Teamsters Local 840 at 345 W. 44 St. in Manhattan. Herelated that he delivered a package to a person (who happened to be a memberof Local 840), and in the course of conversation talked about his pitifulpay and working conditions.
She responded, "Why don't you go talk to my union?" And thatwas why he came.
Why should messengers join the Teamsters? Perhaps it goes back to thelegendary Jimmy Hoffa, who once said, "If it has got wheels, the Teamstershave jurisdiction."
The messenger was told to come back with some friends of his the followingweek, if he was serious. He showed up with seven fellow workers. The uniondecided to test the interest further and gave the messengers leaflets fora meeting set for the next week.
Ninety-two people came. At that point the messenger union organizingcampaign was born, and it has gone forward since.
There are about 4,000 messengers in the city, almost evenly dividedbetween bikers and walkers. Some 70 percent are Black, including Africanand Caribbean immigrants, with the remainder being Latino and White. Itis estimated that two-thirds of the workforce is steady, and one- thirdhave worked in the field for over five years.
Notably, the average messenger does not start and end his career withthe same company. In the selfish and unethical, rough-and-tumble contemporaryworld of the messenger, if you have a disagreement with something thatis being done to you, you move on to another messenger company.
LeFevre, in an interview with the Amsterdam News, revealed that theaverage messenger makes $275 to $350 a week gross. "Some athleticmessengers earn $575 and even $700 in a busy week, but the take-home isstill under $500," LeFevre said.
The Amsterdam learned from LeFevre and talks with messengers that manyare subjected to numerous odious employer-deductions for two- way radios,phone calls to secure pickup assignments, beepers, bike repairs (the bikesare owned by the messengers, not provided by the companies) and workercompensation insurance, even though that is illegal.
Teamsters Organizer Bernadette McCulloch pointed out that "chargingbikers for radios and beepers is like charging secretaries for their typewriters.All bicycle, moped and most van repairs are the sole responsibility ofthe employees. Thus, messengers pay to work."
| main | articles | laws | zines | report | 10-9 day |
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at messvilleto@yahoo.com