EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (WAFB) – School bus workers with First Student Transportation Company are unionizing. Staff with the company’s Joor Road location said this comes after months of concern about working conditions.
“Proper PPE, the unguaranteed hours, lifting up on heavy equipment, dealing with adverse situations with parents on their personal devices. Things of that sort,” said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1546 President George DeCuir.
DeCuir said it took only 90 minutes for the nearly 200 transportation workers to vote in favor of being organized, giving them a voice.
“They’ll be able to now negotiate on wages, those working conditions they were having issues with as well as having to stand up and say so when it comes to health benefits. Things that they feel they have been treated unfairly,” said DeCuir.
First Student provides bus transportation for Central Community Schools and several Baton Rouge Charter Schools including Great Hearts and Prescott Middle. Union reps said the next step is collective bargaining talks with First Student in an effort to avoid a potential strike.
“We do realize it will be a big disruption to not only the students that go to school but also the parents, but it isn’t ruled out.”
WAFB reached out to Central Community Schools. A spokesperson said they have received no information from First Student about its drivers, so they have no comment.
Union reps said it should be business as usual on Monday with no disruptions as students go back to school.
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