A group of Cintas employees in Montreal have become the first ever Cintas workers to successfully join together in a union:
After years of enduring harsh working conditions for low pay, Cintas employees in Montreal have become the first in the company’s history to successfully form a union. Throughout North America, laundry giant Cintas has fiercely fought workers’ ongoing efforts to organize for better jobs. Employees’ victory in Montreal, aided by the most balanced labor laws on the continent, illustrates the desire of Cintas workers to form a union, and the importance of having a fair process.
"Our efforts were rewarded: we now have our union,” says Gabriel Aszalos, a six-year washroom employee. “Even with the long delay, our strong labor laws ensured that our rights were respected. This is a historical victory for us, and we hope it inspires our coworkers throughout the United States and Canada to stand together for safer jobs and a living wage."
The Quebec Labor Board certified Montreal workers’ petition to be represented by the Quebec Council of UNITE HERE late last week. The majority of workers at Cintas’s suburban Montreal laundry first petitioned the Board in December 2006.
Note that this story comes from Canada, where workers can join together using a simple majority sign-up procedure -- a procedure that removes opportunities for corporations to harass and intimidate their workers who are thinking of joining together. In the U.S., though, our labor laws are less enlightened, giving corporations like Cintas ample opportunity to apply pressure to workers who try to join together for safer working conditions and better pay.
That's why America needs the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make majority sign-up available to every group of workers who seek to organize, and by doing so would level the playing field and give workers the chance to express their wishes without fear of intimidation or retaliation.