School Bus Workers United - First's Buyout of Laidlaw

FirstGroup plc Takeover of Laidlaw International

Monitoring the Buyout

FirstGroup has assured the Teamsters that they will honor all existing contracts with Teamsters Local Unions during the transition. General President Jim Hoffa has communicated with the Chief Executive of First Student that the Teamsters Union will carefully monitor the transition of Laidlaw employees.

Teamsters press releases regarding the merger:

10-01-07: Teamsters Pledge Vigilance Over First Student After Merger
4-20-07: Teamsters Confront Board Regarding Anti-Union Activities by FirstGroup in U.S. by FirstGroup in U.S.
4-16-07: Worker Rights Abuses Continue in FirstGroup’s U.S. Operations, Report Finds
2-9-07: Hoffa Calls on Laidlaw to Protect Workers in Wake of Takeover by FirstGroup
2-5-07: Teamsters Raise Concerns Over Potential Takeover at Laidlaw

The IBT has pledged to closely monitor First Student, which is now the largest private school bus company in North America. Teamsters represent more than 14,000 workers at FirstGroup, making our union the largest at the combined company.

Statistics for the Combined U.S. Company:

The new combined company (FirstGroup-Laidlaw) is one of the ten largest Teamster employers.
The combined company owns 62,000 buses and controls more than 40 percent of the U.S. privatized school bus market.
The company owns 13 percent of the school buses in U.S.
The company has 1,500 contracts throughout the U.S. and Canada, with more than $9 billion in corporate revenue.