Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in CA!

Please give a warm welcome our 150 new brothers and sisters who voted to join Teamsters Local 856 in San Bruno, Calif. They all work for the City of Concord as maintenance technicians, police dispatchers, landscape gardeners, crime scene technicians and in other classifications vital to city operations.

Greg Fabian, an equipment mechanic who was worked for the city for nine years, said workers have never been more united. The election involved two units that voted to become Teamsters by margins of 100 percent and 93 percent.

The employees struggled with layoffs, rising medical costs and furloughs in recent years.

Landscape gardener Lance Rivera said the employees need better working conditions.

It gets harder to work with less. It’s great to know that Teamsters 856 is looking out for us now.

Lisa Conner, a 10-year custodian for the city, said they're excited about the Teamsters' experience representing workers.

Local 856 represents fellow public sector workers in San Francisco, San Bruno, Orinda, Fremont, and Millbrae as well as in other cities, counties and districts in the Bay Area, North Bay and Central Valley. The Local also has members working in private sector industries such as hotel, produce, airline and healthcare.

Principal Officer Joseph Lanthier said he's "elated" to welcome hardworking City of Concord employees to the Teamsters Union, where they will enjoy dignity, strength and respect.

We're all elated. Welcome!