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.
Welcome First Student Stafford Springs, Willington & Union, CT Bus Drivers
On, Thursday, April 24, 2008, these bus drivers voted overwhelmingly for Teamster Representation. We look forward to negotiating a contract for these new members.
SUFFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEES OVERWHELMING RATIFY 1st TEAMSTER CONTRACT
After many months of negotiations Teamsters Local 671 members employed by the Suffield Board of Education voted 37-3 to accept a tentative agreement.
The contract covers secretaries, paraprofessionals, computer lab technicians, custodians, cleaners and monitors.
These Teamster employees will receive wage increases each year, significant language changes and the lowest health insurance costs of all Board of Ed. employees in Suffield.
The success of these negotiations is due to the diligent work and dedication of a strong unified Negotiating Committee. They did an outstanding job for all the members of this bargaining unit.
The Officers and Staff of Teamsters
Roger Fenlason - Business Agent
FIRST STUDENT - LAIDLAW BUS DRIVERS OF HEBRON, CT VOTE TO JOIN TEAMSTERS LOCAL 671
February 29, 2008
School bus drivers for the Town of Hebron voted
overwhelmingly to become members of Teamsters Local 671 at an election
held on Friday, February 29, 2008.
These bus drivers voted 15-6 to become the newest members of our Local. We
welcome these drivers and look forward to negotiating an agreement for these
members in the near future.
Local 671 would like to thank First Student East Hartford Steward Marcus Oladell
for his help and support in this organizing campaign.
February 7, 2008
Employees of various classifications employed by the Town of Windsor voted 34-12 on Thursday, February 7, 2008 to join Teamsters Local 671.
We welcome these members and look forward to negotiating a contract for them in the near future.
December 12, 2007
Public transit workers in Connecticut voted 13-3 to join
Local 671 last month. The new Teamsters, who are employed by Middletown Area
Transit, provide public transportation to residents in Middletown, Meriden and
Portland, Connecticut.
We welcome these members and look forward to negotiating a contract for them.
A group of drivers at the FedEx Home Delivery terminal in Windsor, Connecticut, who voted 12 to 9 to join the Teamsters Union on May 11, became members of Local 671 when the ballots were finally counted on Friday, June 1, due to delaying tactics by the company.
The FedEx Home Delivery single-route drivers are seeking to regain their rights and respect from a company that illegally classifies them as “contractors.” After the election is certified, Teamsters Local 671 and driver representatives will begin to bargain a contract that secures the long overdue wages, benefits and rights for these employees.
The drivers’ vote follows a similar outcome of two FedEx Home Delivery terminals outside Boston that joined Teamsters Local 25 in late 2006. The illegal FedEx Ground and Home Delivery business model of labeling its drivers as “contractors” but controlling them as employees is being challenged by FedEx workers around the country.
“The FedEx drivers are sick and tired of the misclassification that denies them fair pay and benefits and lines the pockets of FedEx management with the profits the drivers deliver every day,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “The FedEx contractor scam has run roughshod over these workers for too long. This vote for the Teamsters marks the end of the scam for these drivers.”
“Many of the FedEx drivers in Hartford struggled for years inside the FedEx Ground scam and found the system was always tilted against them,” said Teamsters Parcel and Small Package Division Director and International Vice President Ken Hall. “FedEx would routinely make promises and not live up to them or give something here only to take it away somewhere else. By joining the Teamsters, these drivers have clearly announced to the company that it is a new day and there will be a new way.”
“Connecticut Teamsters are fully prepared to join with these newest members from FedEx to sit down with the company and hammer out a contract that provides them with the pay and benefits they deserve,” said Teamsters Local 671 Secretary-Treasurer, Dave Lucas.
“This is obviously a big step for these drivers but this vote will also open the eyes of people around the state to what exactly is going on with the misclassification abuse at FedEx,” Lucas said.
An election at another FedEx Home Delivery terminal in Northboro, Massachusetts is pending while the company faces a complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board Region 1. The NLRB Region 1 complaint charges FedEx with retaliating against drivers for testifying before the NLRB and other protected union activities. The complaint further charges that the company fabricated evidence of wrongdoing and terminated four drivers for their protected free speech and union support.