First Student workers authorize strike

‘We aren’t giving up until we reach the top of that mountain’

TUKWILA, WA (April 3, 2025) — On Saturday, over 400 school bus drivers, mechanics, and dispatchers servicing the Seattle School District overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike against their employer, First Student. Organized with Teamsters Local 174, the workers’ contract expired on March 31, opening up the possibility that a strike could be called at any time.

These contract negotiations are crucial as they allow the group to take advantage of a new state law passed in March of 2024 that requires worker benefit levels at private school bus companies to be equitable to the benefits earned by bus drivers who work directly for school districts.

Photo: Teamsters Local 174

The law significantly raises these workers’ healthcare and retirement benefits, but First Student has stonewalled at the table, refusing to bargain in good faith to finish closing the gap between publicly and privately employed school bus drivers.

“First Student workers and their Union have been working together to climb a mountain for years, striving to reach an equal footing with their peers who work directly for school districts,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “Now that we are finally close and the summit is in sight, First Student has chosen to hold fast and refuse to continue bargaining. Our members told them today in a loud and clear voice, ‘we aren’t giving up until we reach the top of that mountain.’ Their demands are fair, and we hope First Student sees that and negotiates a contract that respects our members for the work they do each day transporting our most precious cargo, our children.”

Workers at First Student were last pushed to strike in 2018. For now, the workers continue to show up everyday to ensure children in Seattle get to and from school safely.