“Chilling” of Union Campaign by Contractor Alleged at Logan Airport
BOSTON/South Boston - A Logan Airport ground-service contractor is being sued by a former employee who claims he laid off for his role in a union-organizing campaign.
Raymond Maldonado from Mattapan is an organizer with an SEIU Local 32BJ airport campaign, and worked as a ramp agent for Michigan-based company, Ground Services International (GSI), until he was let go in March.
The lawsuit was filed at the US District Court in Boston at the end of September, and claims violations under the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA).
According to the complaint, “Maldonado is part of the organizing committee of Airport Workers United, a group of employees at Logan airport, employed by various employees, who are seeking to organize with SEIU Local 32BJ.”
It alleges that, “In retaliation for his union activism, GSI terminated the employment of Maldonado in order to chill his lawful and protected activities and those of other GSI employees.”
In an interview as part of a separate investigative research project, Raymond Maldonado, described his experiences as a young, low-wage worker on youngandprecarious.com.
According to the complaint, Maldonado began working for GSI in September of 2012, working a 3-11pm schedule, five days a week, and getting paid $10 an hour, but without receiving health insurance or paid sick or personal days; until he was fired in March of 2013, he never took a sick day, or other time off, and never received any form of discipline.
GSI is described in the complaint as a “contractor performing ramp services for British Airways and Japan Airlines at Logan Airport,” and that it “employs approximately 30 employees in ramp services at Logan who perform functions such as unloading and loading baggage to/from terminal and on/off airplanes.”
“In early 2013 Maldonado joined the organizing committee of Airport Workers United (AWU), a group convened by SEIU Local 615 to begin an organizing drive with workers at Logan airport who were employed by various employers but did similar service work for contractors of commercial air carriers,” the complaint explains.
It’s says that as “a member of the organizing committee, Maldonado appeared at a Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) Board meeting on February 8, 2013 to speak about working conditions at the airport,” and that his face and name also appeared on an AWU flyer identifying him in his union role.
“Throughout late January and early February Maldonado spoke to co-workers and other airport workers about organizing with AWU/SEIU,” and that he “invited other workers to two organizing meetings, one at the airport Hyatt on January 28, 2013 and one in East Boston on March 26, 2013,” the complaint says.
It’s alleged that on “Friday March 29 Maldonado received a text message from his GSI manager Joanna Fentress who told him to report to the office,” where “another manager, Wilson Figueroa … told Maldonado he was terminated.
When Maldonado asked why, Figueroa said, ‘Joanne directed this. I’m sorry. Joanne saw you in a photo and she doesn’t want you working at the company.’”
The complaint explains that the “RLA guarantees employees the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, without interference from the carriers who employ them,” and alleges that “GSI has egregiously violated the RLA in order to interfere with, influence, and coerce the efforts of Maldonado and other employees to join and organize with SEIU Local 32BJ…”
The lawsuit is seeking a permanent injunction that reinstates Maldonado to his job; that prohibits GSI from interfering with employees’ organizing rights under the RLA; and that prohibits retaliation against Maldonado in any way.
Ground Services International has yet to file an answer to the complaint, or to appoint defense counsel; a request for a statement was not responded to before the filing of this report.
The case will be heard by Judge Richard Stearns.
This article was produced for Open Media Boston's Open Court Project.
