My name is Brenda Beaulieu and I have worked driving a school bus for eleven years. I have had enough work experiences to know how important it is to be a member of a union, and I’m really glad that I’m a Teamster member. 

I initially prepared this message for First Student workers who are currently working to organize in Rhode Island, but its message applies to workers all over. Whether you work in Mississippi or Maine, it’s crucial to have union representation.

For a long time, I was a nonunion employee. When I started working for Laidlaw I thought, “This is great.” I couldn’t understand many of the complaints from my co-workers—until I was there longer. When First Student came in we all felt that we would finally be treated better. Wrong! Soon we were limited to how much toilet paper we could use and had to supply our own paper towels, among other things.

Now, as bad as it seemed to be getting, believe me, it could have been worse! I was still employed at the Exeter-West Greenwich yard when Ocean State Transit got the contract. When this happened, they set up times for interviews. Our jobs were no longer secure. We were told that after being interviewed we would be notified by letter to find out about our hiring status. The drivers that were rehired received the date of a start-up meeting. Those who were not rehired were notified.

I’m not sure how many people did not get rehired, but I do know that some of the people who had 18+ years in were not rehired. Also, anyone that caused any discomfort to the supervisor got the boot. We had no union or union contract to back us up.

Once Ocean State came in, things changed. No longer could you do any shuttling or sports trips. Drivers were being hired to do just that. No health insurance was offered. There was no 401(k) and no Christmas bonus, either. They did, however, get toilet paper and paper towels.

If we had a union in place before the contract was up, I would still be in Exeter-West Greenwich. I would still have my run. We could have ensured hours and bonuses and secured what we already had.

Because of the RIDE program, I ended up back in Coventry and finally we have the Teamsters there! I feel secure knowing that all of this cannot happen to me again. 

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have our union now to back me up and protect my job. Don’t let this happen to you. I was one of the lucky ones. I was given a choice to stay with Ocean State or go to Coventry. You may not be so lucky.

Brenda Beaulieu