In a unanimous vote on Wednesday, 24 St. Croix Cable TV employees chose to join a fledgling, locally based union.
The employees, who hold installation, technical, maintenance, clerical and customer positions, voted to become members of the Our Virgin Islands Labor Union rather than the United Steelworkers of America. OVILU was certified as a bargaining unit by the National Labor Relations Board in May.
OVILU President Terrence "Positive" Nelson bills the organization as progressive and focused on being an internally based financial, social and informational resource to its members and the wider community.
A statement released after the union’s successful attempt to start a new shop on St. Croix said the union will provide different and essential educational and economic benefits.
"It is the mission of OVILU to provide proactive, honest and efficient leadership to all Virgin Islands workers without regard to his or her field of occupation, public or private," the release said.