In a landslide victory, messengers at UltraEx in San Francisco voted nearly 2-1 in favor of unionization yesterday. With the June 1 win, more than a year of organizing by San Francisco messengers and the ILWU bore its first fruit. All 42 of the UltraEx bicycle messengers, drivers and walkers went to the polls, and they voted union 27-15.
Messengers work long hours at low pay under dangerous conditions.
Many cannot afford health insurance, even when their employers offer it, because they can't meet the co-payments. Most have no vacation or sick days. We showed yesterday that messengers can stand up and take control of our own lives.