Local 369 recently won a critical victory at Covanta SEMASS, one of the Union's most recently organized facilities located in Rochester, Massachusetts.

The Union secured reinstatement and full back pay for bargaining unit member Dennis Jamison, a 22-year employee terminated last year for allegations of time theft -- allegations rejected wholesale by the arbitrator's award.

"We knew all along that the Company improperly targeted this member and we were determined to prove that fact," said Local 369 President David Leonardi. "Now the other members at SEMASS will see firsthand what it means to have a union at their back when Mr. Jamison walks back through the plant gate."

The case was the first discharge since the SEMASS bargaining unit ratified a collective bargaining agreement on April 22, 2010. That contract followed a bruising nearly two-year contract negotiation and lengthy unfair labor practice trial before the National Labor Relations Board.