CONNECTICUT INDEPENDENT LABOR UNION 36B Kreiger Lane P.O. Box 938 Glastonbury, CT 06033
CONNECTICUT INDEPENDENT POLICE UNION Telephone: (800) 546-2905 Fax: (860) 657-9921
CONTACT: Leanna Noble (203) 927-8039 UE International Representative
February 8, 2006
Stamford Department of Public Works Employees Vote to Join UE Local 222, CILU/CIPU
Stamford - On Wednesday February 8, 2006, in a secret ballot election conducted by the
Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, the 150 workers in the Stamford Department of Public
Works voted overwhelmingly to join UE Local 222, CILU/CIPU.
By a vote of 103 to 22, workers voted to join UE Local 222, CILU/CIPU and leave IBT Local 145. UE
Local 222, CILU/CIPU represents over 2000 municipal and Board of Education employees in the state
of Connecticut.
Mike Kyek, a Town Yard worker active in the campaign, commented “This is a rewarding and
historical moment for the employees. It demonstrates our unity and willingness to persevere
and I am proud to be one of their leaders. With the election now behind us it’s time to sit
down and get to some of the serious union business at hand.”
Leanna Noble, UE International Representative noted “These dedicated public workers take their
jobs very seriously. They work long hours to keep the streets plowed, the garbage picked up
and make sure that water treatment facilities are working correctly. They see themselves as
part of the community and we are looking forward to working with them. Quality jobs means
quality services.”
UE Local 222, CILU/CIPU President Peter Pekrul commented, “The 2000 members of UE Local
222, CILU/CIPU live and work in more than 40 towns in Connecticut. The statewide local is
part of a national union who’s track record goes back to 1936 and since the early 90's has
included significant numbers of members in the public sector. I am a DPW workers myself in
the town of Berlin. We are extremely proud to welcome Stamford DPW workers to the Union.”
# # #
to our newest Members !
Email jwoodruffjr@sbcglobal.net
(include your name and local - photos
encouraged, but optional)
to welcome Stamford
DPW workers to the
Union"
- Peter Pekrul, President
UE 222-CILU/CIPU
built by the Members
themselves. I look forward
to helping the Stamford
DPW workers fight for
their rights and power on
the job !"
- Ray Flowers,
CILU/CIPU Trustee
Taking control of your own Union is an amazing accomplishment ! This is not
the end, but only the beginning; as you build your Local Leadership, continue to
develop Unity and Solidarity, and most importantly, protect and promote independent,
democratic, Rank-and-File Unionism. Welcome to the revolution !
-John Woodruff Jr., Vice-President, UE 222-CILU Local # 35 (Danbury BOE)
By Doug Dalena, Staff Writer, Stamford Advocate
February 11, 2006
STAMFORD -- Office of Operations workers have voted overwhelmingly to sever their longstanding
ties with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The workers, who drive the city's plows and
garbage trucks, maintain golf courses and fix city vehicles, voted 103-22 to join the Connecticut
Independent Labor Union, which is affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of
America, said Michael Kyek, new president of the union local.
Three members voted to have no union, and two votes were disqualified, said Leanna Noble, a
representative of the national union. The overwhelming vote, with a participation rate of 87 percent,
showed members' dissatisfaction with the Teamsters and a desire for more participation and training in
labor issues, Kyek and Noble said.
The workers first partnered with the Teamsters 53 years ago.
"Without a doubt, this means a lot of unity," Kyek said.
Kyek, who became the local union's president as a result of the vote, said he was somewhat
overwhelmed by the results, despite the fact that he knew the effort to change unions would succeed.
"Actually, things have been very upbeat for a long time," he said.
Kyek and other union members have long expressed dissatisfaction with the Teamsters, and were
active in rejecting a tentative contract agreement with the city last summer. At the time, Teamsters
leaders said the vote failed because some members were provoking discontent.
When more than 100 union members signed petitions last month seeking a vote to switch unions,
Teamsters Local President Michael O'Malley said members were getting misinformation about the new
union, which he accused of making unrealistic promises.
O'Malley said the current contract, which covers 2003 to 2009, is one of the best that Office of
Operations workers have ever had. Kyek said the Teamsters were keeping members in the dark about
negotiations and failing to address understaffing and safety problems in certain departments.
He said the new union will focus first on addressing some of those issues, including what he said were
ventilation problems at the city dump and understaffing on garbage trucks. The new union will have
three years before it has to renegotiate its contract. "It really gives us a chance to sit back,
get organized and get ourselves some training so we can tackle the city in 2009,"
Kyek said. The 150-member union represents workers in the Highway and Solid Waste Department,
Traffic Enforcement, the E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course and the city's vehicle maintenance garage.
Noble would not comment on what the vote means for the Teamsters, beyond the fact that a vast
majority of workers were dissatisfied with the union's representation. "There is a real serious
interest on the part of public sector workers to be a part of a democratic union, so
they as employees can really build an effective voice," she said. One immediate result is
the Teamsters' loss of $72,000 in annual dues, Kyek said. "That's a lot of money to be losing," he said.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
what you’re going through. I’ve
worked both sanitation and
streets. They are both hard jobs.
With UE there have been a lot of
changes made for the good. It 's
made a big difference. UE is the
best choice you can make."
—Jerome Houser, President
UE Local 222, CILU/CIPU #68
New Haven DPW
newest Members !
Email jwoodruffjr@sbcglobal.net
(include your name and local - photos
encouraged, but optional)
The Stamford Department of Public Works Employees !
