School bus workers in Columbus voted 170 to 46 to join Teamsters Local 413. There are 274 drivers in the bargaining unit.
“We just want fairness, and being Teamsters will give us that,” said Renee Turner, a driver since 2007. “When I saw that we had won I was so happy. If my back wasn’t hurting I would have stood up and danced!”
In Atlanta, Red Cross workers had to battle a union-busting law firm that held many captive-audience meetings, according to Ben Speight, organizer for Teamsters Local 728. "Red Cross even promised they would give a flat-screen TV away to the first person who could answer the most questions correctly on an anti-union questionnaire,” Speight said.
The vote was 36-14, with 51 collection specialists and technicians in the bargaining unit. It's the third organizing victory among Red Cross workers in the South -- Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C. -- since October.
