Now they recycle work life
WORKERS at a Brooklyn recycling plant who had to battle with their employer to join a union have ratified their first Teamsters contract.
Teamsters Local 210 successfully negotiated a deal last week for Sims Municipal Recycling workers in Sunset Park.
The contract gives the workers raises and a union health care plan with premiums fully paid by employer Sims.
The workers, who recycle the city’s residential trash, said they wanted to join a union to improve their prior health care coverage — which they said was too expensive — and get better treatment on the job.
“We worked so hard to get to this point, but it was worth it,” said Jose Lopez, a Sims worker and union leader.
George Miranda, secretary-treasurer of Local 210, said the Sims workers got a lot of support from the community, labor backers and those in the environmental justice movements.
“This is a win that will transform the lives of the immigrant workers at Sims, but it is part of a larger fight to transform the city’s sanitation system. We are going to win that fight, too, for all our workers and communities,” Miranda said.
The new contract also guarantees annual raises, a retirement plan, increased vacation time and a higher-education program.
Workers will be protected from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, country of origin, gender status and union activity.
They will have representation during disciplinary procedures and will be able to grieve violations of the contract.