Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) employees working at the headquarters in the Silicon Valley are ferried to and fro by the bus drivers, who now have decided to organize a union. This incident indicates that the tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area are facing growing community animosity.
Request sent to Facebook CEO
The company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg received a letter from Teamsters officials, who have put forward the request for recognizing the union of drivers. This union will be established for the purpose of taking responsibilities such as assuring improved working conditions to the drivers, and working towards providing them a wage that will enable them to live near the office.
In the letter sent to Zuckerberg last week, Teamsters official Rome Aloise mentioned about the piteous living standard of the workers. He said that the employees are privileged that they are paid well at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), which enables them to afford a luxurious living in the exclusive neighborhoods of the Bay Area while, on the other hand, drivers are paid such less that they can’t even afford a decent living for their family. They can’t afford to educate their children and last but not the least, can’t even dream of having a home near the workplace.
Rising disparity
Aloise also marked the letter to Loop Transportation, the shuttle bus contractor of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) as well and in this letter he said “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.”
No comments were received from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). President of Loop Transportation, Jeff Leonoudakis, said that the company takes good care of its drivers and that these drivers form the heart of the company. A representative of the company made comments to the New York Times informing that the company allows the drivers to relax in between shifts in the lounge provided by it.
The rents and home prices in the San Francisco and Oakland area have gone up substantially because of the high-paid tech employees, who have moved to these areas from the Silicon Valley, claim the protesters targeting the commuter buses for the tech giants in the Silicon Valley.
