(RICHMOND, VIRGINIA) – More than 30 Arborists employed at Truetimber in Richmond, Virginia have become the first Unionized Residential Tree Care Company in the United States after voting to join the International Association of Machinists (IAM). 

The company founder’s promise to sell the company to Employees was broken when it was sold to a private equity firm, which canceled the Workers’ profit-sharing program without notice, prompting the Workers to Unionize with IAM Local 10 (District 2020).

Despite efforts by the new parent company and a Union-Busting Firm hired to prevent it, the Union vote passed overwhelmingly.

As anticipated, the new management tried every trick in the book, including hiring the Anti-Union Law Firm Foley & Lardner.  Soon enough, Anti-Union pamphlets started making the rounds, “educating” Workers on the stiff bureaucracy and ideological impositions a Union would impose on their “way of life” at Truetimber.

After an initial meeting, the Workers split up and started dispersing Authorization Cards, first contacting those they were confident would be “good bets.”

It just so happened a majority of Staff were very good bets and 80% of the prospective Bargaining Unit signed cards within two weeks. 

After the cards were gathered, another meeting at the Union Hall was held with as much of the Bargaining Unit as possible to ensure everyone was on the same page about what was about to happen and to prepare the group for management’s upcoming counter-campaign.

“Now that Truetimber has Unionized, our new Members have two avenues by which they can advocate for themselves and the industry,” IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Craig Martin said. “First, they have a collective voice with which to balance the scales in their immediate place of work, and second, they have a direct pathway of political advocacy through their Union, the IAM, to voice their concerns more handily to Virginia Lawmakers.”

The American Tree Care Industry is highly unorganized, and there are minimal regulations on who can work on trees, what safety standards they must employ, and what sorts of credentials are needed to start a tree care business.

Though often underappreciated, tree care is a crucial industry for society’s functioning as poorly managed trees pose significant risks to infrastructure and property without skilled Arborists.

After severe storms, Arborists are considered Essential Workers alongside Power Linemen, ensuring safety and stability.

At large, however, America is the only Western nation that doesn’t require any kind of certification to be an Arborist.

To Read This Organizing Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: Arborists In Virginia Vote to Join IAM, Become First-Ever Residential Tree Care Workers to Unionize in U.S. - IAMAW (goiam.org)