Agreement achieves historic gains for group of school bus drivers

School bus drivers at Zūm in Seattle are officially working under the strongest bus driver contract in the country. Last weekend, these 300 members of Teamsters Local 174 came together to vote on a tentative offer from the Company, which they voted overwhelmingly to accept. The new agreement comes just weeks after a strike appeared imminent.

The contract now makes Zūm Services the first Zūm drivers in the nation to have free healthcare for individuals, and the lowest cost for family coverage in the state. On top of these life-changing improvements to healthcare, the contract has nearly doubled the amount of money being paid into their retirement accounts while also providing wage increases that make Zūm drivers leaders in the industry. The Agreement also provides the membership additional PTO days and an additional paid holiday, giving workers a better work-life balance in an industry that demands a lot from people.

“This is no ordinary contract – this one will continue to change lives,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “It is astonishing to see how school bus driver contracts in our Local Union have improved over the years. We can say without hesitation this is all due to the militancy of our members as they stand up to fight for fair contracts. We are proud of we have been able to achieve for our members, who work extremely hard transporting and protecting our most precious cargo, our children.”