Teamsters at First Student Stand Strong for Fair Contract Offers

(Kansas City, Mo.) – First Student school bus drivers in four area districts that are represented by Teamsters Local 838 in Kansas City area are calling on the company to end more than a year of difficult negotiations marked by company stall tactics.

The 800 drivers serve the Center, Park Hill, Blue Valley and Olathe school districts, safely transporting more than 19,000 students each day during the school year. Local 838 and the negotiating committees from the four groups have been attempting to reach a new agreement with First Student for more than a year.

“This has dragged on for over a year, and it is important for our community, parents, kids, and the school system for First Student to settle this contract,” said Rory Clayton, a seven-year driver in the Center School District. “We only want consistent work rules and procedures so we know what to expect on the job.”

First Student submitted final contract offers to each group at the last possible minute with little time to review the proposals. The workers at Center, Park Hill and Blue Valley all overwhelmingly rejected the proposals and voted for strike authorization. The drivers for the Olathe School District will vote on their contract tonight and are hopeful that they will receive ample time to adequately review the proposal.

“These drivers know that no one wins during a strike,” said Bill Thompson, President of Local 838. “They would rather transport their children to and from school safely each day than walk a picket line. But they have been waiting for more than a year for First Student to make a fair contract proposal. The company’s games and stall tactics have put us in this very difficult position.”

”As a driver, for the time these kids are in my bus, they are as important to me as my own children,” said Deb Spruytte, an eight-year driver in the Olathe School District. “We take our jobs very seriously because we transport the most precious cargo one can imagine. We are just asking for First Student to show us the respect we deserve.”

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