Baumann Monitoring Commission Demands Fair Treatment of Workers, End to Anti-Union Activity

The Baumann Monitoring Commission, a volunteer commission made up of prominent community leaders throughout Long Island, held a press conference today to demand justice for the more than 1,700 workers on Long Island who work for the Baumann transportation companies—Baumann & Sons, Acme Bus, Alert Coach and Brookset Bus.

Due to poor working conditions, including low wages, a lack of affordable health care and other injustices on the job, workers at Baumann have decided to form a union with Teamsters Local 1205. In doing so, they have faced an aggressive anti-union campaign by the company, which includes high-priced “union avoidance consultants.”

The Commission seeks to ensure community support for these workers’ rights to form a union without fear and intimidation from their employer. Based on the actions of company management, the Commission presented a report on the status of worker treatment at Baumann, which makes several demands, including:

1)    Immediately fire the union busters, who are feeding off New Yorkers’ tax dollars paid to transport children;

2)    Cease and desist in interfering with employees’ legal right to make their own choice about forming a union;

3)    Remain strictly neutral during the remainder of the union organizing campaign;

4)    If the union is voted in, do not violate the law, which demands that the company bargain in good faith with the union about the employees’ terms and conditions.

Rather than take responsibility, Ron Baumann did not meet with the Commission and delegation of several dozen Baumann workers. Instead, he hid behind one of his highly paid anti-union consultants. 

The Baumann Monitoring Commission consists of:

• William Lindsay, Presiding Officer, Suffolk County Legislature;
• Luis Valenzuela, Executive Director, Long Island Immigrant Alliance;
• Gregory DeFreitas, Professor, Hofstra University;
• Father William Brisotti, Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Roman Catholic Church;
• Rev. Paul Ratzlaff, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, and
• Nadia Marin Molina, Executive Director, The Workplace Project.

Review the Commission’s full report.