3. The End of the Dialog

 exploitingtenders@gmail.com

Apr 13

                       

Hello Mr. Howard,

Thank you for your kind response. We are meeting to appoint a representative who will be back in contact with you shortly.

Sincerely,

The Organizing Committee

                                                                                                                                               

exploitingtenders@gmail.com

Apr 24

                       

Dear Mr. Howard,

Thank you for your patience, given distances and schedules holding a meeting can take a little time to organize. After meeting and considering your request the organizing committee respectfully declines identifying any individual bridge tender at this time and prefers to continue our dialog via email. We believe this will better meet our goal to improve relations at this early stage for the following reasons.

We shouldn’t need standing as an employee to point out disparity or encourage you to avoid polarization by embracing fair play. If we were presenting a petition or a vote it would be appropriate to provide validation identification and we are prepared to do so if forced to that level.

Instead, we trust you will simply do the right thing and provide equal wages and benefits to all your Florida bridge tender employees with equal experience, performing the same job, under the same subcontract to ICA, under their blanket DOT Agreement. Your preemptive action now can contain your problem before it results in widespread indignation and embarrassment to you.

Consider these first letters as a courtesy and the decision is in your hands. You may choose to avert collective action or encourage it. If encouraged we will set our plan in motion then a union or ourselves will present credentials at the appropriate time. If that is the case know we stand prepared to move aggressively up the hierarchy.

It is encouraging that the departure of Mr. Milton Hartman heralds a changing of the guard that offers a fresh opportunity for balance. Let’s work together to correct your problem early with the least intrusion. We look forward to you positive response containing notice that all wage and benefit packages are being equalized.

Sincerely,

The Organizing Committee

2. A Polite Reply

We can only say Mr. Howard responded promptly and politely because: " --> The information in this e-mail (including any attachment) is confidential and intended to be for the use of the addressee(s) only. If you have received the e-mail by mistake, any disclosure, copy, distribution or use of the contents of the e-mail is prohibited, and you must delete the e-mail from your system. As e-mail can be changed electronically ISS assumes no responsibility for any alteration to this e-mail or its attachments.  ISS has taken every reasonable precaution to ensure that any attachment to this e-mail has been swept for virus. However, ISS does not accept any liability for damage sustained as a result of such attachment being virus infected and strongly recommend that you carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment." But, we can say he volunteered his office and cell number and asked we identify ourselves so he could verify us as ISS employees.

1. How It Began

April 1, 2013

Mr. Milton Hartman III

Project Manager

ISS Facility Services

1805 SE Hawthorne Rd.

Gainesville, FL 32641

Dear Mr. Hartman;

As West Florida bridge tenders learn of last December’s wage and benefit increase in South Florida we predictably react with disappointment then outrage that ISS did not share the same package with all of us. This letter is to notify ISS that your treatment of disparity among districts is unfair, a gross breach of trust, untenable and must cease.

Your failure to demonstrate good faith may force us to follow the lead of South Florida in organizing. Our position is that all employees performing the same job, for the same company, in the same state, under the same (ICA) state contract, should receive the same wages and benefits, at the same time.

Of the informed bridge tender votes we’ve received online so far the vast majority are strongly in favor of contacting the Operating Engineers Union. We know that comes at a price for both sides and instead suggest your voluntary demonstration of fairness. By offering immediate and continued parity in wages and benefits among all ISS Florida bridge tenders you can close this rift and repair our relationship before the fracture deepens.

This letter is a courtesy informing you of the dissatisfaction and rancor felt by your informed employees and of our intent. In the absence of your timely positive response we intend to fully inform all West Coast bridge tenders, rally them in support of collective bargaining and disclose our grievances to all interested parties.

We urge you to restore trust, avert the polarization that tends to accompany collective bargaining and avoid the embarrassment of open and wide disclosure. Our organizing remains in the nascent stage and with your cooperation will not need to proceed. We look forward to your timely positive response via email to exploitingtenders@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

The Organizing Committee