Teamsters contnue fight to unionize more Bay Area drivers

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Teamsters hit the streets of San Francisco for a rally.

They're handing out union cards to the drivers of Bauer Transportation, a company contracted to drive workers to some Bay Area tech companies, including Cisco and Google.

The Teamsters are looking to unionize the 100 or so drivers with the goal of increasing wages and benefits.

"Their wage rates are sitting in a range of $30,000 to $35,000 a year and trying to live on that money in the Bay Area. It's very expensive. It's a struggle. They need union representation so that they can all get increases in wages and the benefit's that we're offering," explained Mark Gleason with the Teamsters.

The Teamsters successfully unionized drivers with Compass Transportation at the end of February, which contracts with several tech companies like Apple, eBay and Yahoo.

Drivers for Loop Transportation at Facebook saw their benefits and wages increased by about $30,000 a year after they joined the Teamsters a few months ago.

But not every driver is happy with the tactics by the union.

"I just believe in coming to the employees rather than go in front of our clients," said shuttle bus driver, Sherry Mundy.

Mundy works a split shift. She starts driving her bus from eBay at 5 a.m., takes a 7-hour break and doesn't get off until 8 at night.

But you won't see her complain. She likes her job.

She's hopeful to see a raise in wages and benefits like the drivers at Facebook, but also believes it would have eventually come without paying hundreds of dollars in dues to the union every year.

"That's a great increase. Everybody wants to make a little bit more money, but you know, in today's economy, I'm happy to have a job," said Mundy.

The Teamsters say they were harassed on Thursday while trying to talk to the drivers at the Bauer Transportation headquarters. They then moved to their location to Van Ness Avenue to directly reach the workers.

ABC7 News reached out to Bauer Transportation, but did not hear back.

If the union gets enough drivers to sign their authorization cards, they could have a vote on unionization within 30 days in San Francisco.