They’re done trash talking.
Workers at a Sunset Park recycling facility voted to join the Teamsters union after a heated labor confrontation and threats to strike. The vote caps an eight-month unionizing effort by the workers at the Sims Municipal Recycling facility who complained of mistreatment and a union-busting campaign by management. It was a hard-fought victory, said one worker.
“It feels so good to say that we are Teamsters,” said East New York resident Jordy Lopez, who lead the push to unionize. “We fought so hard, but now it is a new day at Sims. We will move forward together to bargain a contract that guarantees fairness and respect for every worker.”
After weeks of back and forth, on March 2 Sims agreed to an immediate union vote conducted by an independent arbitrator that kicked off at dawn on March 3. Workers cast ballots across three shifts and the election came to a close with 46 votes in favor and 20 against jointing the Teamsters Local 210.
Now, in the coming weeks, workers and union reps will develop a contract and hash out the details with Sims.
The vote puts to bed fears a potential strike at the plant — which processes the bulk of the city’ residential recycling — and would have created a logistical nightmare for the city’s Department of Sanitation. The Sunset Park facility handles more than 15,000 tons of plastic, metal, and glass per month — weighing as much as the Navy’s new 600-foot Zumwalt-class destroyer — and has a $1.5 billion contract with the city to sort through and process the refuse.
The Sunset Park plant joins two other Sims facilities — one in the Bronx and another in New Jersey — in unionizing. The change comes as quiet a relief, said one worker.
“All I wanted was to have better treatment and benefits so I can take care of my family,” said Jeffrey Gomez. “Now I’m very hopeful.”
