TWU Local 100 Organizes Tour Bus Workers in Three More Cities
JUNE 29, NEW YORK CITY -- Hundreds of new union members – from Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco – have joined Transport Workers Union Local 100. These newly organized Bus Drivers and Tour Guides, all working for Big Bus Tours, expand TWU’s presence in the tour bus industry to six cities, as the new members join Drivers and Tour Guides already represented by the union in New York, Washington, DC, and Miami. With the new members, TWU now represents 500 Big Bus Tours employees. The company is the largest operator of open top sightseeing tours in the world.
An overwhelming majority of the Drivers and Tour Guides signed cards to indicate their desire for a union, said TWU Local 100 Director of Organizing Frank McCann. The American Arbitration Association certified the cards as constituting majorities of each group of employees on June 25th. The TWU has an agreement with Big Bus Tours that the company will not contest organizing efforts at their properties.
Big Bus employees saw Local 100’s gains for workers in New York as big incentives to go union. These gains included better pay for work on holidays, across the board wage increases, better medical coverage, and improved 401 (k) employer contributions.
Just last month, Local 100 organized 500 more MTA employees, predominantly in Staff Analyst titles.
“TWU Local 100’s message to transit workers in every branch of the industry is the same,” said Local 100 President Tony Utano. “We will aggressively fight to increase your wages and benefits and protect your job as you do the important work of serving the public.”