By Roy Willis, Stock Transportation school bus driver and Teamsters Local 91 member, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

I’ve been a school bus driver with Stock Transportation in Kingston, Ontario, for nine years, and recently became a Teamster when our yard voted to join Teamsters Local 91. Having a union means we have protection, but it is still important to change the mindset here in North America at National Express (NEX), the company that operates Stock in Canada, and Durham in the United States. My understanding is that in the United Kingdom, unions are treated differently, and since our company is based in the U.K., we wanted to let the parent company know how workers were being treated by the management here in North America. We hoped things could change from the top down, and called on the company to respect workers rights – human rights – at its North American subsidiaries.

I was very honored when I was asked by the Teamsters to represent North American school bus drivers by attending and speaking at the National Express Annual General Meeting for shareholders in London.

We were there to call on the company to protect workers’ rights, by honoring its public commitments that employees are free to join unions without management interference.

When asked at the meeting, Richard Bowker, the CEO of National Express, committed to investigating the concerns raised by workers.

After the meeting, we were able to speak directly with other shareholders who expressed their concerns at the company’s disregard for workers’ human rights, with respect to their freedom in choosing a union and engaging in collective bargaining, as stated in the corporate policies.

I talked to at least a dozen shareholders after the meeting, and many said it was hard for them to imagine the anti-union (anti-worker) behavior that occurs at Stock in Canada actually happens.

In addition to attendance at this very important venue, we also had the opportunity to meet and speak with Members of Parliament, David Crausby and Jim Sheridan, at the House of Commons. They were keenly interested in the concerns expressed at the AGM by the North American workers.

We also had the opportunity to meet with Frances O’Grady, Deputy General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and representatives of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF); and Unite the Union, all international trade unions. There are more than 75,000 bus workers who are Teamsters in Canada and the U.S., and the Teamsters are partnered with the Transport and General Workers Union section of Unite the Union internationally to drive up standards in our industry.

All in all, we had a very productive week in London. It is good to know that school bus drivers in North America have support from so many groups internationally and that our voices are being heard.

My hope is that this visit will help improve the current interaction between National Express subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and their drivers, as well as drivers in other divisions.

Drivers should feel free to join a union without management interference. It is our fundamental right, and should never be taken away.

It is to our benefit that the company be successful. A healthy working environment with management will add to the success of our company, and the success of the company, in turn, will add to the success of its workers.

Many thanks to the Teamsters, to Teamsters Local 91 and to our fellow drivers who are standing strong together, who are uniting and who have supported this endeavor.