Savannah-Chatham school bus drivers vote to join Teamsters

A great victory for the bus drivers!

http://www.savannahnow.com/node/359248

Savannah-Chatham school bus drivers vote to join Teamsters

Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 12:30 am

The final tally left no room for doubt.

First Student employees favored joining the Teamsters Local 728 by a vote of 314 to 20 on Tuesday.

With that decided, Teamsters leaders will begin polling an estimated 400 bus drivers, monitors and technicians to see what their top priorities will be in negotiating a new contract with First Student, the company that handles busing for Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.

Tremayne Johnson, the union's lead organizer, said workers have identified two priorities: better insurance benefits and higher wages.

Jerome Irwin, 56, put it in more everyday terms.

"We have drivers out here who can't afford their own eyeglasses, let alone eyeglasses for their children," he said. "We need a way to make a decent living and afford medical benefits for our families."

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