(WASHINGTON) – The men and women who transport schoolchildren for Illinois Central School Bus in University Park, Ill., have voted, 50-35, in favor of Teamster representation. The 97 new members of Teamsters Local 777 in Lyons, Ill., join a recent wave of workers voting to become Teamsters at the company. They cite a need for better safety, respect and working conditions as reasons they organized.

“We’re excited. We need respect here at the yard. This is going to help us form a better workplace,” said Brian Porter, a monitor.

“The outlook is good and I feel real positive about the Teamsters. We’re going to make a lot of good changes here that we need,” said Rayford Brown, a driver.

“This is a great group of workers that are really united. They have big issues here, and their common concern is for the safety of their fellow drivers and monitors and their passengers. They are ready to address this and other issues through negotiations,” said Jim Glimco, Teamsters Local 777 President.

Since April 2012, more than 580 Illinois Central workers at six locations have joined the Teamsters.

The school bus workers in University Park are the second group of drivers and monitors to organize at Illinois Central in just the past week.

On Oct. 26, 220 drivers and monitors at Illinois Central’s Waukegan location joined Local 777 in a re-run election. The company’s conduct during the initial organizing campaign in Waukegan led Local 777 to file more than 20 unfair labor practice charges and seven objections to the election. The National Labor Relations Board found merit in the charges and advised the company that it would pursue a bargaining order.

The company came to a settlement agreement to have a re-run election, reinstate two workers who had been fired during the campaign with full back pay and compensate seven other workers with back pay owed to them.

“We are thrilled that another group of Illinois Central workers has chosen Teamster representation. School bus workers in Illinois and around the country are building power and driving up standards in the school bus industry by joining the Teamsters. We look forward to representing these hardworking school bus members,” said John T. Coli, International Vice President and President of Teamsters Joint Council 25.

The victory is the latest in an effort to organize 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 34,800 drivers, monitors, aides, attendants and mechanics have become Teamsters.

For more information on the Drive Up Standards campaign, go to www.driveupstandards.org

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

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