Portside

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook shuttle bus drivers voted late Wednesday to join the Teamsters union.

The vote was 43-28.

The union drive was part of a growing campaign in Silicon Valley to secure better pay and working conditions for service workers.

The victory could encourage shuttle drivers for other high-tech companies to start organizing drives, said Rome Aloise, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 853.

"I hope going forward this will set a trend with other drivers in Silicon Valley and the tech industry so we can set a pattern to make the companies pay these drivers decent wages and benefits so they can live a decent life," Aloise said.

Facebook spokeswoman Genevieve Grdina declined to comment.

Loop Transportation, the contractor which employs the Facebook drivers, released a statement from its CEO Jeff Leonoudakis.

"Loop Transportation respects the election results and the decision of our drivers who service Facebook. Even though we don't feel that our drivers' interests are best served by union representation, our drivers have spoken and we will now begin the negotiation process," Leonoudakis said.

The election took place on two of Loop Transportation's properties. It was monitored by a representative of the National Labor Relations Board

Companies from Google to Apple outsource service jobs such as janitors and security guards to outside contractors to lower costs.

With modest pay and few benefits, these workers struggle to piece together a living in one of the nation's most expensive areas, creating a growing underclass of service workers in Silicon Valley.

Facebook shuttle bus drivers who are on the payroll of Loop Transportation say they earn between $18 and $20 for ferrying technology workers who earn six-figure salaries to and from work.

In its statement, Loop Transportation's Leonoudakis said he was proud of the hourly wages which range from $17 to $25. He also said his company pays full medical benefits, vacations and sick days and offers drivers annual hourly pay increases and performance-based bonuses.

The Teamsters organized Facebook shuttle bus drivers after extensive coverage from USA TODAY brought to light tough working conditions.

Facebook drivers told USA TODAY they are not fairly compensated for working marathon days.

Their chief complaint: The drivers work split shifts, one in the morning and another in the evening, but are not paid for the hours in between. Many of the drivers say they must sleep in their cars in between shifts.

In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month, Aloise wrote: "This is reminiscent of a time when noblemen were driven around in their coaches by their servants. Frankly, little has changed; except the noblemen are your employees, and the servants are the bus drivers who carry them back and forth each day."

The frustration of Facebook drivers is shared by drivers at other high-tech companies, said Facebook driver Jimmy Maerina, who organized his fellow drivers.

He says drivers from Google and Apple have reached out to him about joining the union.

"I worked so hard for this," Maerina said after the election. "We won by a landslide. You don't know happy I am."

Maerina says union representation will narrow the income gap and improve working conditions for drivers.

It's rare for unions to make inroads in Silicon Valley. But discontent among service workers has been growing.

Service workers say they have not shared in the prosperity of the tech industry or the Bay Area.

Even as technology workers see their compensation rise sharply along with stock prices, janitors, security guards and others who work inside the very same companies say their wages have stagnated even as the cost of living has shot up.

A majority of the 84 full and part-time Facebook shuttle drivers had signed cards asking Local 853 to represent them.

Either side can file objections to the outcome with the NLRB within seven days. If no one files objections, Local 853 then will be certified as the bargaining representatives for the drivers to negotiate a contract.

Throughout the organizing drive, Facebook has declined to comment, referring calls to Loop Transportation.

Drivers and their supporters rallied Tuesday in front of the company's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters.

Silicon Valley may be rethinking its practice of outsourcing workers.

Last month Google said it would put 200 security guards who work in its Northern California offices on its payroll and part ways with the company that used to supply them. The jobs come with the same benefits as other Google employees.