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Boston Area Trades Council Wins New Members at Prudential Center

For several years, Boston’s giant Prudential Center had been maintained by members of an international union outside of the Building and Construction Trades Department.  But when a new maintenance contractor took over last November, the bargaining unit’s steward approached the Boston Area Trades Council and asked the trades to represent his work force.

One week later, 29 out of the 33-person maintenance crew had signed cards authorizing representation by the trades. An NLRB election was held.  Twenty-seven workers voted for the trades.  Three voted to remain in their current international union.  One voted “no union.”

Seven electricians at Prudential Center joined Boston Local 103.  After the vote, Bill Corley, Local 103 organizer, visited their job site during lunch and brought some informational literature.  “They almost choked on their lunch,” says Corley.  “In one day, they had received more attention from their union than they had in years from their previous bargaining agent.”

The Prudential Center campaign was just the latest success for a multi-trade organizing effort that began in the early 1970’s, recruiting over 1,000 new members at institutions like Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital.