Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice urging support for the Crimson Ride bus drivers.

Justice for Southern workers!

Support University of Alabama bus drivers fighting for a living wage!

Call to action from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, bus drivers are in the midst of a struggle for a living wage. Fed up with earning poverty wages, the bus drivers are demanding their first union contract. Nearly a year ago, the Crimson Ride bus drivers voted unanimously to join Amalgamate Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208.

The University of Alabama contracts out to First Transit, a division of the massive British multinational FirstGroup PLC, which runs the Crimson Ride bus service on campus. The university pays the company $55.50 an hour, and in turn, the company pays the drivers a paltry $9.50 an hour – poverty wages. The union drivers are demanding $14 per hour and benefits comparable to university bus drivers in other states.

First Transit employs more than 60 drivers. Most are African-American and many are women. They face intimidation and harassment on the job from the boss. They receive none of the benefits that employees of the University of Alabama get. There is no pay on university holidays or during school breaks. Most cannot afford the expensive health care coverage that First Transit offers. Many work two jobs to make ends meet.

The South is not a friendly place for workers – ‘right to work’ laws make forming a union a nearly impossible task. Wages are lower and poverty is higher in the South due to racism against African-Americans and the lack of unions. Despite these obstacles, the Crimson Ride drivers are demanding the wages and benefits they deserve. The union drivers are launching a campaign to ask University of Alabama President Dr. Robert Witt to tell First Transit to meet the demands of the union. Supporting the union drivers, the Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is boarding buses to gather petition signatures.

During the 1950s and ‘60s in Alabama, courageous men, women and children fought for justice and civil rights. Rosa Parks refused to budge from her seat at the front of the bus. Today, the Crimson Ride bus drivers are standing up and fighting back for equal treatment, fair pay, and workers’ rights.

First Transit, Stop Stalling!

The Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ) is calling on trade unionists, housing activists, civil and equal rights groups, community organizations and students from across the country to stand in solidarity with the Crimson Ride drivers. Statements of solidarity can be sent to Union Steward Tia Brown at tb3341@yahoo.com.

The NFEJ is organizing a National Call In Day on February 17th:

Call Dr. Witt, President of the University of Alabama at 205-348-5103 and tell him “Stop stalling! We want a contract! Justice for the bus drivers now!”

#TuscaloosaAL #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #NetworkToFightForEconomicJustice #ATULocal1208 #FirstGroupPLC #AmalgamatedTransitUnion #UniversityOfAlabama

Tuscaloosa, AL – Bus drivers, with the support of students at the University of Alabama (UA), are organizing a union campaign to win a living wage. The bus drivers shuttle students, football fans and others around the UA campus. Student activists are riding the buses to sign up student supporters for the bus drivers. The 62 Crimson Ride Shuttle Bus drivers work for FirstGroup PLC, a huge British multinational corporation. The union drivers and students are exposing the British company’s big ripoff of Alabama workers and taxpayers.

The bus drivers, most of whom are African American women, make only $9.50 per hour. This salary puts the drivers and their families below the poverty line. In May of 2009, the Crimson Ride Shuttle Bus Drivers at the University of Alabama unanimously voted to join the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208, but still do not have a contract. Without a contract there are few benefits. The drivers have no job security. There are no guidelines regulating termination. The drivers are paid nothing during university holidays. Many work two jobs to make ends meet.

The University pays FirstGroup PLC $55 per work hour – a huge profit of over $1 million a year. The drivers are demanding a living wage of $14 per hour – a fair wage comparable to other state university bus drivers. $14 per hour will raise them out of poverty. FirstGroup PLC has not yet agreed to a negotiating meeting with ATU Local 1208. If a contract has not been negotiated by May, the union will vote to take further action.

Members of UA’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter are working hard to promote student support for the bus drivers. Tia Brown, a Crimson Ride driver and union steward said, “Students have the power to put a lot pressure on the university to do something.” SDS has been flyering around their campus, as well as making announcements on the Crimson Ride buses, to inform other students about the driver’s union and their demands.

A member of SDS, Jenae Stainer, said, “African American workers continue to struggle for equality, especially here in the South where we have not yet overcome the history of racism. Though people may have moved from the back of the buses to the drivers’ seats, they still don't have the justice they deserve.”

UA students have shown a lot of solidarity with the hard working drivers, many agreeing to sign a petition in support of the drivers’ demands. SDS plans to have 1000 student signatures by Feb. 11. On that day, there will be a national call-in day for union proponents to demand that the president of the University of Alabama tell FirstGroup PLC to pay the drivers a living wage. The number to call on Feb. 11 is 205-348-5103.

#TuscaloosaAL #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #CrimsonRide #FirstGroupPLC #AmalgamatedTransitUnionLocal1208