April 25, 2008  

(Washington, D.C.) – School bus drivers with First Student in Stafford Springs and Willington, Connecticut voted April 24 to join Teamsters Local 671 in Bloomfield. The 60 drivers are the latest group of private school bus and transit workers to join the Teamsters Union in order to raise standards in their workplace.

School bus drivers in Stafford Springs voted 35-6 to join the Teamsters Union, while only a few hours later, the drivers in Willington cast their ballots 11-2 in favor of becoming Teamster members. The workers came together in order to take their first step toward achieving fair pay and fair work policies.

“I am extremely pleased,” said Andrea Newmarker, a First Student driver from Stafford Springs. “We just want equality and fair wages for a fair day’s work. We stuck together as a team and I’m very pleased.”

“Job security, respect and fair pay are all important. We do a hard job out there and need to have the recognition. That’s why we voted Teamsters,” said Nancy Krivanec, a First Student driver who has been a driver in Willington for 21 years.

Tony Lepore, President of Local 671, said the workers approached his local after hearing from other First Student drivers about the superior working conditions they had as Teamster members.  

“There is strength in numbers,” Lepore said. “We have 11 school bus locations under our local’s jurisdiction. We’re building strength for school bus workers.” 

“We welcome both of these new First Student groups to the Teamster family,” said David W. Laughton, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Joint Council 10. “These strong women and men exemplify what it is to be a Teamster. They stood strong to make sure that their message was heard by the company loud and clear, and that message is that they want to be Teamsters.  Local 671 will surely rely upon that strength when they enter into negotiations.”

The victory for workers in Connecticut is the latest in a successful campaign by the Teamsters to raise standards for private school bus and transit workers across the country. Drive Up Standards is a national campaign to improve safety, service and work standards in the private school bus and transit industry. Since the campaign began in 2006, more than 6,600 workers have become Teamsters.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States and Canada.