CONTACT: Tony Montana, (412) 562-2592, tmontana@usw.org
The Pittsburgh Association of Technical Professionals (PATP) have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a union representation election with HCL, a tech contractor at Google’s Bakery Square offices. HCL’s 90 employees work side-by-side with those of the giant corporation for far less compensation and few, if any, of the perks.
The PATP is a project sponsored by United Steelworkers (USW) union to help Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania workers in high-tech fields organize and bargain collectively with their employers for improved working conditions and standards of living.
With more than 66 percent of eligible employees signing cards seeking union representation, PATP members decided to file for the election today so that they can begin the process of bargaining for fair wages and benefits as quickly as possible.
“HCL, its managers and we employees stand only to gain by seeking an expedient and fair NLRB-supervised election,” said HCL employee Joshua Borden.
“Workers at HCL deserve far more than they have received in terms of compensation, transparency and consideration, and it has gone on like this for much too long,” said HCL employee Renata Nelson. “While on-site management tries to do what they can, where they can, their hands are often tied by arbitrary corporate policy.”
The NLRB now must determine if the cards and signatures collected satisfy its criteria and schedule a representation election, when individual workers will cast ballots for or against organizing a new unit within the PATP and USW.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector, health care, academic, technical and service occupations.