SAN BERNARDINO CITY WORKERS UNIONIZE TO BUILD WORKER POWER
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This March 2024, worker power rose significantly in Southern California as San Bernardino City workers presented their employer with proof of majority support for unionization and joined Teamsters Local 1932.
All full-time city workers—from public works to city hall and everything in between—are Local 1932 members. A majority demanded union recognition earlier in the year, which the City accepted. The new San Bernardino Teamsters join mid-manager San Bernardino city workers who have been members since Local 1932’s affiliation in 2015.
“San Bernardino City workers are ready to build on the power that Local 1932 members are assembling,” says David Lamas, City Lead Maintenance with the Public Work Department’s Quality of Life division. “Through worker power, we will improve standards for workers and residents who enjoy the services we provide here in the City.”
The San Bernardino City Teamsters join the more than 14,000 working people that comprise Local 1932 throughout San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Teamsters Local 1932 members work, among other places, in the Cities of Colton, Fontana, Hesperia, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, and throughout the County of San Bernardino. The San Bernardino City workers will now prepare for negotiations ahead of the expiration of their contract with the City in a year. Workers are focused on unending the lack of job protections that many other union workers count on as basic rights.
“It feels amazing heading into negotiations next year that we’ll be able to prepare for it all with our union, Local 1932, headquarters in our backyard,” says Freddy Bermudez, Construction Inspector for the City’s Engineering Department.
“We’re proud to be Teamsters, but the fight isn’t over,” says Phillip Silva, another Construction Inspector for the same department. “We have immediate fights to wage to fix issues that have plagued our unit for years. City of San Bernardino workers are ready to transform this city positively for workers and residents.”
Teamsters Local 1932 is a part of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org, as well as Teamsters1932.org, for more information. Follow us everywhere on social media at @1932Teamsters.