Treat Us Right!
First Student Can Afford to
Treat
Us Right
The Facts on First Student
If you think that First Student is a small, struggling
organization…think again.
Our new employer, First Student, is
a global company that is more than making ends meet,
while bus workers struggle to do the same for our families. As school bus drivers, attendants and mechanics, we are concerned with
standards in the school bus industry and are
working hard to make some needed changes.
We are seeking a living wage,
affordable health insurance, respect on the job and safety on our buses. We wanted to share this information about
First Student with you because it makes
it clear that First Student can afford to do better for us and for the children
we transport.
Global Reach
First Student is a subsidiary of a major
global company called FirstGroup.
FirstGroup is a United Kingdom-based
transport provider with operations in the United States, U.K.
and Canada.
The company is led by Chief
Executive Officer Moir Lockhead, whose salary, bonuses, benefits and
stock options package totaled more than $2.6
million in 2005.
Here at Home
Since its merger with Laidlaw was
completed in October 2007, the combined company owns 63,000 buses and controls more than 40 percent of
the U.S.
privatized school bus market.
In 2007, FirstGroup reported profits
on its North American operations totaling over $130 million – an increase of 8.6 percent over 2006.
The company owns 13 percent of the
school buses in the U.S.
The company has 1,500 contracts
throught the U.S. and Canada, with
more than $9 billion in annual
corporate revenue.
The company employs about 96,000
workers.
First Student transports almost
three million children to school each day.
The answer is
clear—First Student can afford to treat us
right.
What
we can’t afford is to sit by and not take action. We are working together so we
can improve standards for all school bus workers.
FirstGroup's 2007 Annual Report
FirstGroup's 2006 Annual Report
FirstGroup's corporate social responsibility that guarantees employees the right to join
unions without fear of retaliation or discrimination by management.