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| First Transit drivers Wayne Tucker, left, and Richard Dubin, right, celebrate their organizing victory after voting “Yes” for IAM representation. |
Sixty-two drivers and mechanics at First Transit in Nashville, TN voted “Yes” for IAM representation. The workers drive the shuttle buses for short- and long-term parking at the Nashville airport, and the mechanics maintain the buses.
“When I’d park to fly out of the airport, I got to talking to some of the drivers,” said District Lodge 711 Business Representative Tim Wright. “I found out they needed a union, so we started a campaign.
“The District Lodge 711 Organizing Committee started handbilling at the airport,” said Wright. “We built a solid, core committee for the IAM among the workers. They’re a strong bunch of folks, and they did a great job building the support needed to win an election.”
The drivers and mechanics’ issues were pay, working conditions and basic respect on the job.
“District 711 has built a strong organizing committee, and that is paying dividends in new members,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez. “This is a great lesson for union members. When you tell people you meet what a great union the IAM is, you find out that a lot of workers want a good union at their workplace, too. That’s the best way to organize, person-to-person.”
