On February 8, First Transit bus operators at Emory University unanimously voted to be represented by Local 728 in Atlanta. There are 91 workers in the bargaining unit.

With this decisive win, Local 728 is moving ahead to the elections for First Transit’s other work locations in Atlanta, including Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, the Atlanta University Center, Perimeter Mall, FedEx airport facility, Coca-Cola and Georgia Power. The election ballots for these eight locations will be counted February 22.

"We utilized the strategic market-wide organizing campaign modeled by the International Union, which boosted our local union's efforts and gave us the opportunity to simultaneously target all the First Transit workers in the Atlanta area," said Ben Speight, an organizer with Local 728.

The campaign involved an active organizing committee, made up of workers at each of the major work sites, and dedicated rank-and-file members who served as organizers, making door-to-door visits and gathering support from various student and community organizations.

“As a single mother, my family is the most important thing to me. That’s why I worked so hard to win this election and why now we’re fighting for our first Teamster contract," said April Johnson, a First Transit driver and organizing committee member. "My coworkers and I are ready for change!”

First Group is the parent company of First Student and First Transit. Since 2006, more than 5,000 of the company's workers have become  members of the Teamsters Union.

"The workers at First Group are joining the Teamsters because they want some very basic things: respect, dignity and a voice on the job," said Randy Brown, Local 728 President. "Our union is committed to strategic organizing campaigns, and solid victories like this show how that commitment can pay off.”