My name’s Michelle Stegner and I’m a bus driver in Savannah, Georgia. I’ve been a bus driver for four years now. I started when Laidlaw was in and First Student was just another name. In July of 2006, the school board voted for First Student to run the bus services. We had been trying to become union even when our buses were with Laidlaw, but never got this far.

We had a lot of reasons to organize. A big concern for me, for instance, is health care. It would eat up my hourly wage just to be able to get health insurance through First Student, so I don’t have it. I am a diabetic and I don't have health insurance. I have to pay for all of my doctor’s visits and medications out of pocket. My twin 16-year-olds have state coverage, thankfully, but I am not covered. I am also making the same wage that a new person coming fresh in the door with no experience is making and I have four years of experience. There has been very little respect here for us as dedicated employees with years of professional experience.

It was early in the spring when we looked to the Teamsters to help us organize. I started going to the meetings and really getting involved. Things started moving along quickly after that. The Teamsters organizers were wonderful and very helpful. They taught me a lot about forming a union.

On September 11, 2007 we went to vote. We knew we had a long haul ahead of us. We have more than 400 employees here. But I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that we were going to be union. I just knew we were going to win!

At 6:00 pm the polls closed and we all eagerly went in to see the count. The room was so quiet—all you could hear was the man counting. In the end, our vote was 314 to 20. We all started screaming and hollering. We had this little chant going: "WHO ARE WE?" and the response was, "THE TEAMSTERS." It was really great seeing the faces of management when all this was happening.

We still have some hard work ahead on negotiating a contract, but I can’t wait to get started. We worked wonderfully together and will continue to stick together. The Teamsters organizers were so helpful, including our friend Sebrina Isom from First Student in Beaufort, South Carolina. She helped keep us straight and updated us on what to expect as we were forming our union. We carry the next generation to school every day and we do it well. Now, as Teamsters, we will have the protections that we need so we can continue to do our jobs well. I hope all school bus workers with First Student learn from our experience.