I know the difference a union can make because I live the difference every day. I work two jobs—at the United States Postal Service and at First Student. In my job at the post office, I am a union employee. I am guaranteed health insurance and all of the protections that come with union membership. I’ve always believed in the power of my union and this power becomes even more evident as I compare the two parts of my life. As I go between my union and nonunion jobs I can see and feel the difference; it’s like night and day.

I am now educating my coworkers at the bus yard on the difference that union membership can make for all of us. I know that forming a union is key to rectifying the many problems that we have in our yard.

I take great pride in my job and I enjoy the connection I have to my community through transporting kids to and from school. However, I transport a lot of kids. The most obvious problem we have right now on the buses is overcrowding. When you have 78 high school students on a bus, they’re really packed in tight, almost overflowing into the aisles. It’s a lot of students to handle, but I won’t let my kids stand up on the bus because I worry about their well- being.

Unfortunately, the company has not worried about our well-being as employees. In my union position I have health insurance, but my coworkers at the bus yard do not have adequate health coverage. They have a supplemental plan, which is not worth the paper it’s written on. I know of coworkers who have spent away their savings on minor procedures because they are not adequately covered. They’re left struggling to get by.

I tell my coworkers that it’s not what the union can do for you, but what it can do for all of us. Seeing the hardships my coworkers at First Student face makes me appreciate what I have all the more. I want to see everyone at my yard be able to take care of health concerns without fear of exorbitant expenses or lack of coverage. Our company can do better for its employees. We deserve better and we will work hard to achieve a better standard for all bus workers. Take it from me—I know the difference a union can make.