(CAHOKIA, Ill.) – After a 45-day organizing campaign, drivers at First Student have voted to join Teamsters Local 50 by a margin of more than three-to-one. The 33 workers provide student transportation for Cahokia School District 187. 

“These workers were drawn to the Teamsters because of the seniority rights, regular pay raises and various other benefits associated with the contracts our members have at First Student,” said Pat Nichols, Local 50 President. “We are thrilled that these workers have chosen to join our family here at Local 50 and all of us excited for what the future holds.”

The workers will immediately be covered under the First Student National Master Agreement, with a supplemental agreement to be negotiated in the near future. Pamela McClain has been a driver at the Cahokia yard for over a decade; she was critical to the campaign’s success.

“We wanted to organize with the Teamsters because we liked the way they work – they’re for us, they help us out, they’re a good group to have behind us,” McClain said. “We’re looking forward to contract negotiations so we get a chance to bargain for paid days off, wage increases and all of the other things that First Student drivers get at Teamster bus yards.”

Located in Belleville, Illinois, Teamsters Local 50 represents over 2,000 workers in a wide variety of industries throughout southern Illinois. For more information, go to http://teamsters50.com/.

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