Spin's Electric Scooter Workers Ratify Teamsters Contract

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Workers for e-scooter company Spin who are members of Teamsters Local 665 voted overwhelmingly today to ratify their first union contract.

The workers joined Local 665 via card check agreement with the company late last year. The union persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic, holding negotiation sessions over Zoom teleconferencing, to reach an agreement that contains a number of important firsts for this group of workers.

The three-year agreement includes annual wage increases of over 3 percent per year; six paid holidays, whereas workers previously had zero holidays; vacation days based on years of employment, whereas workers previously had zero vacation days; five sick days per year; a $1,200 per employee ratification bonus; benefit accrual for part-time workers, whereas they previously did not accrue; and the additional benefits and protections of a union contract.

"Since this is the first ever group of union e-scooter workers at Spin, we worked to build this contract from scratch," said Tony Delorio, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 665. "We are proud of this agreement and excited to continue our representation of workers with Spin."

The group of 40 workers and growing includes shift leads, maintenance specialists, operations specialists, neighborhood ambassadors, deployers and collectors. Spin is owned by Ford Motor Company.

"This new contract gives us job security and immediate money up front, with guaranteed increases each year going forward. We also got holiday pay and vacation, which we didn't have before we organized," said Shamar Bell, a Spin worker and shop steward. "All this means a lot during the pandemic. We know our union will have our back if our boss or the city government tries to make changes. I can say for sure, we're proud to be Teamsters."

Last year, the city's Board of Supervisors passed a resolution calling on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to consider compliance with AB5 in its issuance of permits to companies. AB5 is a law that makes it harder for companies to misclassify workers as "independent contractors." The Board of Supervisors also passed a resolution calling for labor harmony for e-scooter companies. The SFMTA passed a labor harmony requirement in 2015 for the Silicon Valley commuter shuttle buses which operate in San Francisco.

"We have aggressively advocated for our members not only at the bargaining table, but also with the city to ensure that e-scooter jobs are not temp gig work, that they are good union jobs. We welcome the expansion of the e-scooter program to companies that follow the rules. So far Spin is the only company to abide by labor standards and San Francisco's requirements for permitting under its labor harmony provisions," Delorio said.

Delorio noted there are other e-scooter companies in the city that have ceased operations during the pandemic and have subcontracted to third-party employers to avoid worker organizing.

Spin was recently granted permission by SFMTA to add an additional 500 e-scooters to its existing fleet of 1,000, and Local 665 spoke in support of this expansion as it will create good jobs for workers.  

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Kara Deniz, (202) 497-6610
[email protected]

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SOURCE Teamsters Local 665