Letter from Workers United member Francisco Castaneda

President Wilhelm and President Raynor,

I work at Aramark Uniform Services laundry in San Jose and have been a member of UNITE and then UNITE HERE, Local 3 for many years. Last year, our Local joined with UNITE HERE Local 2850 to participate in a phone servicing system intended to help with grievances and other worksite issues. In my local we found the phone system to be ineffective and asked the Western States Regional Joint Board to return to communicating directly with our Business Agent unless better quality phone staffing could be found.

Starting in December 2008 members and stewards in my local began receiving visits from phone servicing staff and Local 2850 staff at our homes. Staffers who had never before visited us. The staffers often told us to keep their visits secret from our long-time Business Agent. The subjects of the visits were ever-changing and confusing. Sometimes we were told that they were going to form a new union or affiliate with a different local, sometimes it was to keep the union together. Some members received visits from Wei Ling Huber, President of Local 2850 stating that she would become the president of a new union that would represent them. Rumors were started about union staff, affiliate leaders, work-site leaders and others. I, and many other stewards, elected leaders, and other members told these hotel local staffers repeatedly to go away. They refused and have continued to harass us for months now.

In March, we were finally fed up. Local 3 and Local 75 (the other Northern California laundry local) voted to disaffiliate from UNITE HERE, along with the Western States Regional Joint Board. Over the following weeks more than 70% of the Local 3 membership signed petitions endorsing the disaffiliation. Then we joined a new union, Workers United. Since that time, my family has been subjected to increasingly hostile and harassing visits by organizers from UNITE HERE hotel locals. Recently one of the organizers screamed at my brother when he didn't find me at home. I know that other members have experienced similar treatment. We are sick and tired of UNITE HERE staff who do not respect our wishes for a new union that will work harder to improve conditions for Northern California laundry workers and thousands of other members who saw few gains since the merger.

That is why we used our democratic power to leave UNITE HERE and form Workers United. But still, the hotel union does not respect us and will not let us exercise our rights and these activities continue. Laundry workers in California need our union to be able to help us get a new contract, not fight our old union.

President Raynor, you have said you are willing to settle this mess. President Wilhelm are you? We urge you, return to the negotiating table and make a deal. If you can't do that, go to arbitration. We are your members, and that is what we want. You are supposed to work for us!

Francisco Castaneda, President, Workers United Local 3
San Jose, California