The IAM scored a second important organizing victory, this time for 475 office and clerical personnel employed by L3 at the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) in Corpus Christi, TX. This follows an April organizing win for 450 helicopter mechanics and technicians at the same facility.
The L3 employees voted on June 12 for IAM representation by 219 to 149, a 59 percent margin, in a day-long election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The group will join IAM Local 2916, which already has over 500 members under six contracts at the adjoining Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, as well as the new members from April’s election.
“Our organizers were able to overcome the anti-union bias that is promoted in some southern states by providing concrete examples of what IAM contracts have already secured for similar workers throughout the South,” said IAM Southern Territory Vice President Mark Blondin. “The IAM also has a history in the South that goes back 126 years, with well-established bargaining relationships in shipbuilding, defense and aerospace.”
Blondin credited the union’s months-long education campaign that preceded the vote for ensuring workers at L3 knew their legal rights and understood the benefits of working under a collective bargaining agreement.
“The office workers mirrored the mechanics in needing better wages and benefits,” said IAM Southern Territory Grand Lodge Representative Ramon Garcia, who helped coordinate the organizing effort with assistance from District Lodge 776 and District Organizers Chub McCrory and Sylvia Zavala.
“This was a big team effort, with staff and volunteers involved from across our territory. It’s exciting to see workers’ views change about the need for a union,” said Blondin. “Across the South, we’re hearing from workers about the need for the voice on the job and better wages. We expect these latest wins to lead to increased organizing opportunities for the IAM.”
Read the original article on the www.goiam.org website here.