This is what we union THUGGS do for each other in times of need...

Nance Prendota (L) and shop steward Darlene Gonzalez.

...we help them.

When Nance Prendota and her family were burned out of their home, her Teamster brothers and sisters came to the rescue.

Nance is a Teamsters Local 777 school bus driver for Illinois Central School Bus in Aurora, Ill. In mid-January, she woke up to a glow in the hallway. It was a fire that quickly destroyed her family's mobile home..

Nance, her husband and their two sons were all inside when the fire broke out. Nance’s husband, Brian, tried fighting the fire himself, and ended up with severe burns on two-thirds of his body. He is currently at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where he is being treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

Teamsters Local 777 reached out to Teamsters international union organizers in the Aurora area for their help. In just days, staff organizers (and former school bus drivers) Shelley Goodman and Dean Phinney collected 14 nights worth of points at the Hampton Inn from their colleagues so that Nance and her family would have a place to stay. Money has also been donated to Nance and her family for travel to and from the hospital to visit Brian.

Courtney Bell, business agent for Local 777 in Lyons, Ill., writes:

The Teamsters are a family; we support one another. We are resilient, strong and overcome the challenges we face in life. A BIG thanks to all the International Brotherhood of Teamsters organizers for reaching out a helping hand during this Teamster’s time of need.

To read more about the Teamsters' work to raise the safety standards of school buses and the living standards of their drivers, check out http://driveupstandards.org/.

And remember, THUGGS stands for 'Those Helpful Union Guys and Gals.'

Woo-hoo! Another Teamsters organizing victory in IL

Welcome to 95 new Teamsters who voted to join Local 777 in Chicago. It took a lot of guts and solidarity to stand up to their employer, Latino Express, but these school bus drivers did it.

The company intimidated the workers and repeatedly tried to prevent a vote. Management didn't attend bargaining unit hearings and fired two school bus drivers who helped with the organizing campaign. Local 777 responded by filing unfair labor practice charges against the company. Recently, drivers got support from community group Jobs With Justice and Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez.

Latino Express workers get no paid holidays. They can lose wages if the company decides they have to pay for school bus accidents. They joined the Teamsters for better wages, benefits and respect.

Local 777 expects to negotiate the workers’ first contract with new protections and improved working conditions over the next few months. James Glimco, Local 777 president, said,

The men and women of Latino Express take very seriously their responsibility to safely transport Chicago children to and from school, and they deserve the utmost respect for their service. The Teamsters couldn’t be more proud to represent our newest members and continue to drive up standards in this vital industry

Joint Council 25 President John Coli added,

At a time when union members are being wrongfully attacked across the country and working men and women are being robbed of their rights, the Teamsters remain committed to protecting our members at all costs. We applaud the drivers of Latino Express for laying claim to their future and taking a stand against such ongoing harassment.

New IL Teamsters sign first contract

We're just catching up on this news from Chicagoland: Last month, nearly 200 Teamster school bus workers ratified their first contract with First Student -- just six months after joining Local 777 in Brookfield.

Workers at the bargaining unit, located in S. Holland, got strong wage increases, paid holidays and better health and welfare benefits for three years.

School bus workers all over the country are raising their standard of living by joining the Teamsters. They're also winning dignity and respect. I've heard school bus workers describe how they've had to work when they're sick, how they've been punished for getting off their bus to throw up, how they've had to ask for toilet paper because the restrooms aren't stocked -- and gotten three sheets.

Over the past few years, the Teamsters have organized nearly 30,000 school bus workers. Local 777 alone has organized and negotiated contracts for 1,400 school bus workers.

For those of you who aren't familiar with first contracts, they're very hard to come by. According to Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Fifty-two percent of workers who form a union are still without a contract a year after they win an election, I found, and 37 percent remain without a contract two years after the election

Teamsters take pride in the strong contracts we negotiate. That's why John Coli, president of Teamsters Joint Council 25, said what he did when the S. Holland First Student workers ratified their contract:

more hardworking men and women are realizing the long-term strength and protection of a Teamster contract.