OrangeParkJournal.com

School bus drivers employed by First Student rallied yesterday saying they want to be represented by the Teamsters. Here’s their statement:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — First Student school bus drivers joined with area Teamsters today to rally outside of Jacksonville’s largest bus yard to demand fair wages, improved benefits, safe conditions for themselves and the children they transport, and respect on the job.

The drivers and aides are waging a campaign to join the Teamsters Union, which has organized more than 5,700 First Student and Laidlaw bus drivers nationwide in the past year.

“These drivers and transit workers work hard every day to ensure the safety and security of our children,” Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President, said at the rally. “They deserve our respect. They deserve safe working conditions and fair wages and benefits.”

More than 900 bus drivers are employed by First Student in the Jacksonville area. The rally was held at the Arlington yard, the largest of the five bus yards and maintenance facilities in the region. The drivers and transit workers transport thousands of area school children each day.

“Our campaign is about driving up standards for bus workers and transit workers, and the children they transport,” Hoffa said. “First Student wants to keep treating its employees like second-class citizens, but the Teamsters won’t stand for it.”

“I believe that safety will improve for the children and the drivers once we have Teamsters representing us,” said Rhonda Johnson, a two-year First Student driver in Jacksonville. “Being Teamsters will definitely bring a higher standard to our workplace.”

Gaining respect on the job is important to many First Student drivers who have chosen Teamsters. “The reason I want to be a Teamster is so that I can have a voice at work,” said Corlene Isaacs, a seven-year employee of First Student. “Management doesn’t respect us now, but they will with a union.”

Driving Up Standards, the national organizing campaign for private school bus drivers, is a coordinated project with the Teamsters and the Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&G) to improve safety, service and work standards in the private school bus industry.

The Teamsters Union in the past year has organized thousands of First Student bus and transit workers from Alaska to Maine - more than 5,700 workers at 50 different bus yards. The Teamsters’ effort has led to improved safety, higher wages and better benefits for First Student employees and the children they transport.

More information about the effort and testimonies from First Student workers can be found at http://www.schoolbusworkersunited.org

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million hard working men and women throughout the UnitedStates, Canada and Puerto Rico.

First Student spokesperson Kimberly Mulcahy answered our request for a statement from the company.

“At First Student, we recognize the hard work and dedication our employees bring to their jobs. We value their contribution to our company and to providing safe transport of four million children throughout North America to and from school each day. Our goal is to help our employees reach their full potential through ongoing training and development in an environment which demonstrates our commitment to diversity, mutual respect and employee satisfaction.

First Student is an equal opportunity employer. Being a preferred employer is one of our first priorities at First Student. We offer employees competitive wages and benefits and our commitment to promote from within has provided hundreds of opportunities for employees at all levels.

While it is our policy to not comment on specific union activity, FirstGroup America, parent company of First Student, has a Freedom of Association policy that is one of the most progressive in any business sector. This policy reflects First Group’s support of human rights and the individual rights of its employees. The company is committed to the principle that employees should be free from influence from management in choosing whether or not they want to join a labor organization.”

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