(Washington, D.C.) – More than 250 school bus drivers and aides in Anchorage, Alaska voted December 20 to elect the Teamsters as their bargaining representative in the union’s latest organizing victory at First Student. More than 1,200 workers at the private school bus company have gained a voice on the job this year by voting to join the Teamsters.
"Workers in the private school bus industry are sending a clear message that they will not stand for low pay, expensive health insurance and a lack of respect,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. "I am proud to welcome our Anchorage brothers and sisters into the Teamsters Union.”
The Anchorage workers will join Teamsters Local 959. “I feel hopeful now that we will have the opportunity to negotiate for what we deserve—for better benefits, respect and equal treatment on the job,” said Keith Castleton, a First Student driver in Anchorage.
The vote follows last week’s victories for 500 First Student bus drivers and aides in South Carolina, Connecticut and New York. The Teamsters’ campaign is part of a nationwide effort with the Service Employees International Union and the Transport and General Workers union to improve safety, service and work standards in the private school bus industry.
"These major victories are the direct result of the Teamsters’ focus and energy on growing our great union,” Hoffa said. "We are organizing for the future and building power for our members and all workers.”
This past summer, First Student bus drivers and aides in Baltimore and Iowa City, Iowa, became the first locations to join the Teamsters, paving the way for the more than 1,200 workers in the private school bus company to gain Teamster representation, this year alone. Representation elections are scheduled next month for First Student locations in Pine Bush, New York, and Danville, Illinois. Nearly 250 workers are employed at those two locations.
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States and Canada.
