The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that workers at the Boise location of Swissport Cargo Services, an international aviation service company, can vote on whether they want to unionize. 

The elections will take place Jan. 18 and 19 after the labor relations board denied a jurisdictional dispute filed by the company. The workers will hold the election to decide whether the General Teamsters, Warehousemen and Helpers Local 483 union will represent the cargo warehouse agents, loadmasters and traffic office agents employed by Swissport at the Boise Airport, according to a Jan. 2 letter from a local representative of the labor relations board.

Swissport is a Switzerland-based aviation services company providing airport passenger services, lounge hospitality and cargo handling services, according to its website. Its headquarters are located in Zürich, Switzerland. Active in 44 countries with around 57,000 employees worldwide, its Boise location primarily handles Amazon packages and mail, according to two Boise location workers.

According to the letter, Swissport argued that the case should be referred to the National Mediation Board for an advisory opinion. 

The National Mediation Board is an agency of the U.S. government that coordinates labor-management relations within the U.S. railroads and airlines industries. This jurisdictional claim arises under the Railroad Labor Act, a 1926 law designed to discourage labor strikes and lockouts in the transportation sector to avoid economic disruption, according to Union Facts.

According to the letter, a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board conducted a hearing, and the parties filed briefs. Region 27 director Matthew Lomax considered the evidence and arguments presented by the parties, and he found that the National Labor Relations Board has jurisdiction over Swissport. 

“Although the services provided by Swissport are the type of work traditionally performed by employees of air carriers, the record indicates that the Employer is a third-party contractor with full responsibility for its employees,” Lomax wrote.

Swissport workers allege union busting practices, while company spokesman says it encourages workers to vote

Two cargo warehouse workers in favor of the union drive, Derek Bellas, 23, and Hayden Rippey, 23, said the company attempted to stall the election by claiming the jurisdictional dispute after workers filed for an election in October. 

That’s in addition, Bellas and Rippey said, to other tactics the company reportedly used to prevent a union from forming, such as providing false information about unions, hosting anti-union meetings during work hours and a supervisor tearing up union materials in the break room. 

The Idaho Capital Sun attempted to reach Swissport Boise location general manager Scott Monk, the Swissport human resources department and a Swissport media contact for comment. Swissport did not respond to specific concerns raised by the workers.

However, Swissport spokesperson Stefan Hartung said in an emailed statement that the company does have “an engaged and enthusiastic workforce.”

“We respect all workers’ rights, including the right to unionize if they chose,” Hartung said in the statement. “We look forward to continuing our tradition of engaging directly with our team to discuss all aspects of their work. Swissport strongly encourages all of our Boise employees to vote. Whatever the outcome, we will continue to honor their wishes.”

In an interview with the Idaho Capital Sun, Rippey said the lack of representation in their workplace is what led him to become involved with the union drive.

Why some Boise workers support the unionization effort

“We have no representation,” Rippey said. “We don’t file grievances, because who do you file a grievance to? There’s no on-site HR person, or they bring people in who are HR. And what they tell you is we’re here to talk about a union and we want you to vote for a union, which (Swissport wasn’t) letting us have for months.”

Bellas told the Sun in a telephone interview that the high turnover rate at the Boise Swissport location is what originally made him interested in the union drive. He said the company hires more people than they have payroll for, leading the company to reduce hours for workers.

“So every morning you come in, and then there’s, you know, half a dozen, 10 or more people that they just need to send home every day that don’t get their hours, and they waste gas money,” Bellas said. “And you know with the skyrocketing cost of living, it’s just kind of ridiculous. A number of my coworkers are working second jobs that I know of, there’s at least one person that’s working three jobs, and it’s really killing her.”

The work schedule to unload planes starts at 10:30 p.m. and ends at 6:30 a.m., according to Bellas and Rippey.

Bellas said the union effort is not just about working with people at Swissport to improve working conditions, but setting a precedent for democratically structured worker representation across the country. 

“That’s something that I personally believe in,” Bellas said. “You know, we’re contracting for a big company like Amazon, and I think it’s ridiculous that some people can barely afford to live … working a full time job. Corporate, they’ve done everything to fight us that they legally can do.”

Bellas said 70% of Swissport workers signed union cards and that the jurisdictional dispute was a way for the company to delay their election. He also said captive audience meetings where “union busters” came in to dissuade people from voting in indirect ways, such as claiming Amazon would drop their contract with the company if workers voted to unionize.  

That didn’t make sense to Bellas, who said other Swissport locations have unionized with no contracts being dropped.

After organizing in 2018, a group of more than 150 Swissport aircraft fuelers at SeaTac International Airport ratified a three-year contract with Teamsters Local 174 in 2022. There have been no public reports of Amazon severing their contract with Swissport in Seattle. 

Another issue raised by Rippey and Bellas is how union material in the break room was torn up and thrown away by a supervisor. Bellas said that the same supervisor told workers that Amazon would drop the contract if they voted to unionize.

Rippey said that event became a joke around the workplace about how the company felt about workers’ First Amendment rights.

“That’s what scares a lot of people is that they can just get away with it,” Rippey said.