Letter to the CEO of Yahoo, Terry Semel,
re: Justice For Janitors Campaign
[We encourage you to write your own letters, both via the Union Voice Boohoo Yahoo Campaign web site, and the USPS, as well as by phone (408) 349-3300 and email (investor_relations@yahoo-inc.com). You are free to cut and paste the letter below into your own word processing or email software for this purpose. - Editors]
CEO Terry Semel c/o
Yahoo, Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Dear Terry Semel,
The Frederick Douglass Society supports the right of the janitors working at Yahoo via Team Services to organize a union. The union-busting tactics of fear and intimidation being used by Team Services to discourage participation in Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1877's organizing drive are unconscionable. As the client of Team Services, their actions serve as a proxy for yours, and you (as CEO) and your company are directly accountable for their results.
The Justice For Janitors campaign has successfully organized thousands of janitors throughout Silicon Valley, raising their standard of living and improving their working conditions. Most of your company's peers, including such luminaries as IBM, Apple, and HP, work with responsible contractors that provide living wages, affordable family health insurance, and respect on the job. The employees at Team Services deserve nothing less.
When janitors work for a company that shows its respect for them by providing decent wages and fair treatment, they bring pride and a sense of ownership to their work, which manifests itself in a commitment to providing the highest quality of service possible. Irresponsible contractors who treat their workers like faceless commodities in turn generate appropriate reactions - no investment in their work, and high turnover. The janitors at Team Services want the security and respect required to be able to do a good job, but instead are being harassed and denigrated by anti-union management.
It is Yahoo's responsibility, and your own, as CEO (the buck stops here) of the Internet's most valuable and widely recognized brand name, to insist that Team Services agree to and effectively implement a fair and legal process that allows its workers the freedom to join a union in order to win improved wages, health care, and to work in an environment free from interrogation and threats. If the management of Team Services refuses to alter their company's policies, then it is Yahoo!'s obligation to hire one of the many responsible contractors in Silicon Valley that treat their employees with respect in their place. Justice and fair play demand nothing less.
Sincerely,
Thomas Leavitt
Founder, Frederick Douglass Society
P.O. Box 7095, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-7095
http://www.frederickdouglass-society.org/
info@frederickdouglass-society.org
A copy of this letter has been posted to our web site, at:
http://www.frederickdouglass-society.org/justice-yahoo-campaign.html
