UNI Swedish Commission of Inquiry Holds Three Hearings in
U.S.
WASHINGTON, March 1, 2012
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legal and security experts
testified about workers' rights violations by Loomis, an armored car guard company, before a
public hearing at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The
hearing was held by UNI's Swedish Commission of Inquiry into the
Labor Practices of Loomis.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO)
The commission, which is comprised of Swedish union leaders and
legal experts, was organized by UNI, the global labor federation
for services sector workers which is headquartered in Switzerland. Members of the commission
traveled to the United States to
investigate reports of workers' rights violations at Loomis US.
Loomis US is a subsidiary of Swedish cash logistics corporation
Loomis AB [STO:LOOMB]. Loomis
armored car guards in California
had union representation for the last 58 years, until the company
unilaterally decided that it will not allow its California employees to continue to be
represented by the Teamsters and is refusing to negotiate new
contracts.
Loomis subsequently cancelled
its employees' retirement plan, changed to a substandard health
care plan that costs workers up to $700 a month, and can now terminate employees
without just cause. Older employees with years of experience can be
replaced by younger, less expensive employees.
Loomis guards were represented
by Teamsters Local Union 150 in Sacramento; Teamsters Local Union 315 in
San Mateo; Teamsters Local Union
396 in Los Angeles; Teamsters
Local Union 439 in Stockton;
Teamsters Local Union 542 in San
Diego; and Teamsters Local Union 853 in San Jose.
At the Friday, Feb. 24 hearing,
Rome Aloise, Teamsters International Vice President, said,
"Loomis armored car guards chose
union representation 58 years ago, and their guards continue to
make that choice to this day. Even though the right to bargain
collectively is a fundamental human right, Loomis decided unilaterally to de-recognize
their union. I am thankful to UNI for convening these hearings and
to the Commission for investigating these violations of U.S. and
international law."
Wilma Liebman, former Chairman of
the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), testified that current
case law in the U.S. improperly restricts the free choice of
armored car guard to choose union representation.
Lance Compa, Senior Lecturer of
International & Comparative Labor at Cornell University, testified that Loomis is violating international law and
International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.
Peter Bakvis, Director of the Washington Office of the
International Trade Union Confederation/Global Unions, testified
that Loomis is committing
violations of internationally recognized workers' rights and added,
"It is completely unacceptable for Loomis to walk away from its responsibilities
when it is convenient."
Armored car guard is one of the most dangerous jobs in America.
Guards are regularly robbed and shot while delivering cash.
Loomis reduced the number of
employees on armored car teams from three to two and sometimes one,
and no longer provides workers with guns or bulletproof vests.
Jim McGuffey, an armored car and
security expert, testified that Loomis front line employees continue to
receive low wages and few benefits, and that once the economy
begins to turn there will be a day of reckoning. "Reducing crews to
one person is ludicrous and will only increase risk for
Loomis guards, the public and
customers," McGuffey said.
On Wednesday of last week, the UNI Swedish Commission of Inquiry
also held a hearing in Los
Angeles. Ron Herrera,
Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 396, testified about the
devastation Loomis workers
experience now that their job and retirement security has been
taken from them, even though they put our lives on the line every
day.
Kent Wong, Director of the UCLA
Labor Center, testified that Loomis' withdrawal of union recognition
violates U.S. law, and also violates internationally-recognized
labor standards established by the ILO, the United Nations and the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
multinational guidelines.
Linda Delp, Director of the UCLA
Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program, testified about the
risks Loomis' practices pose to
armored car guards' and the public's safety.
The Swedish delegation is comprised of Alice Dale, Head of the UNI Global Union
Property Services Department; Stellan
Garde, former legal counsel at the Swedish LO-TCO Trade
Union Confederation and Commissioner of International Commission of
Jurists; Martin Viredius, Vice President of the Swedish Transport
Workers' Union; Goran Larsson,
International Secretary of the Swedish Transport Workers' Union;
and Peder Palmstierna, former press officer of the Swedish Social
Democrat Party.
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the UNI
Swedish Commission held its first hearing in Berkeley, Cal.
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union 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
@TeamsterPower.
SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters