Workers in Clay, Hinds, Madison and Yazoo Counties Seeking Better Wages
JACKSON, Miss., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- First Student bus drivers in Clay, Hinds, Madison and Yazoo counties should receive comparable wages to their counterparts in Mississippi and neighboring states for the hard work and dedication they give to the children they drive to school, said W.C. (Willie) Smith, President of Teamsters Local 891, which represents the workers.
The Teamsters have worked hard since negotiations began this summer with First Student to obtain a fair contract for the workers, who are the lowest paid in the area. Wages start at an average of $9.25 an hour, which is about $3.00 less than First Student workers in neighboring areas, Smith said. The workers are seeking their first contract as Teamsters.
Smith scoffed at the company's final offer of an increase of 20 cents per hour at a four-hour guarantee.
"That is an increase of 80 cents a day -- that will barely buy a bottle of water," Smith said. "How are the workers supposed to support their families?"
Currently, the workers have no paid health insurance, no paid holidays and have not had raises since August 2008. The workers believe First Student is committing serious human rights violations against the workers by not bargaining in good faith.
The workers are seeking an increase of 80 cents per hour, or, about $3.20 more each day.
That would amount to about 3.2 cents per day for each child they transport safely each day
as professional bus drivers.
First Student pays a starting salary of $11.00 an hour with a five hour daily guarantee on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The workers represented by Local 891 do not understand why they are not paid the same amount of wages performing the same job, working for the same company, and working in the same state.
"These workers provide an important service by transporting the precious cargo of children safely to and from school each day," Smith said. "They should be compensated fairly for the hard work they do."
SOURCE Teamsters Local 891
Teamsters Local 891
