A local Teamsters union has organized three groups of school bus workers in the last two months, as organized labor sees a resurgence in Connecticut and at the national level.
Mechanics and monitors with the school bus transportation company First Student in Manchester both voted unanimously to join the union, Teamsters Local 671 announced.
In a separate election, more than 100 drivers and monitors at First Student in New Britain also voted to join Teamsters Local 671.
While union membership has been declining since the 1950s, a recent increase in union organizing has caught the attention of the New York Times as workers seek higher pay and better conditions.
In Connecticut, workers at Starbucks stores in Vernon and West Hartford recently voted to unionize.
“We have momentum on our side at First Student,” said Tony LePore, secretary-treasurer of Local 671.
Pamela Barnett, a First Student bus driver who is based in East Hartford, helped organize the three new Teamsters units. She said bus drivers are increasingly seen as professionals who deserve strong contracts.
“We have people backing us up who view bus drivers as people with a professional career,” Barnett said. “We’re not babysitters on wheels.”
Teamsters Local 671, based in Bloomfield, represents workers in transportation, construction and other industries in Central Connecticut. Roughly 10% of U.S. workers are members of a union.
