U.K., U.S. Unions Back St. Louis Teamsters

U.K., U.S. Unions Back St. Louis Teamsters

FirstGroup Unions Issue Solidarity Statement Supporting Local 610 in Strike

December 7, 2001

(Washington, D.C.) – Unions representing FirstGroup workers in the United States and the United Kingdom this week joined forces to demand that the company resolve its two-month long strike with school bus drivers in suburban St. Louis.

During a meeting in Washington, D.C., FirstGroup unions – including American unions Amalgamated Transit Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters – told FirstGroup subsidiary First Student to end its dispute with 350 members of Teamsters Local 610.

“The dispute has already damaged the lives of thousands of families in suburban St. Charles County, Missouri, and threatens the safety and security of 26,000 schoolchildren facing a bitter winter,” the statement said. “The unions also urge FirstGroup and its subsidiaries to treat American workers and their communities with the same spirit of partnership that defines its relationship with workers in the United Kingdom.”

The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) of the United Kingdom, which represents about 25,000 FirstGroup bus drivers throughout Great Britain, signed the statement of support.

“Teamsters in St. Louis should know that their brothers and sisters in the U.K. stand alongside them in this fight,” said Steve Edwards, Secretary to the TGWU National Liaison Committee.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), the umbrella organization for 570 unions in 132 countries representing 5 million members, also joined as signatory.

“These striking workers are not alone,” said Mac Urata, ITF Inland Transport Section. “The world is watching this dispute.”

Edwards and Urata will be in St. Louis through Friday to meet with First Student workers from Fort Zumwalt and Francis Howell school districts. The company and union will meet with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.