News

Nebraska pizza drivers union fails, Ohio vote next week

November 17, 2004

The Associated Press: A fledgling national union for pizza drivers is demanding better wages and training, saying large chains have been taking advantage of them for years.

It's an effort that has attracted the attention of the Teamsters union, but the Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers, based in Hendersonville, Tenn., has yet to organize its first shop.

A vote at a Domino's franchise in Lincoln, Neb., failed Tuesday night on a tie. But organizers expect a better result next week, when Pizza Hut drivers vote at a store near Columbus, Ohio.

Tim Lockwood, treasurer of the pizza delivery union, said getting the first vote itself was a huge victory.

"Just that it occurred is a major hurdle," he said. "It's never happened before in the history of pizza delivery driving."

The union started just a couple of years ago with a few drivers talking in an Internet chat room about unfair working conditions.

"It's sort of like the thing reached critical mass. We built a Web site and they came," said Lockwood, a pizza delivery driver who declined to identify the company that employs him.

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