TWU TUUS Leaders Hit the Road

Road Trip!  

TWU International Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate, TUUS Division Chair Willie Brown, along with the division’s staff Representatives, hit the road in June to visit three small Locals in the South: Locals 239 and 279 in Georgia, and 248 in North Carolina. The trip was the latest in a series of regional outreach tours undertaken by the division to learn individual Locals’ needs and offer them support, Tate said.  

The Georgia Locals represent school bus workers in Augusta, Georgia. Local 248 represents Bus Operators, Mechanics, and Paratransit Drivers in Winston-Salem. Total dues-paying membership is approximately 330. 

“We wanted to let them know, even though they are small, that they are not alone,” Tate said. “They are part of something greater. It doesn’t matter if you have 70 or 100 members. If you carry the TWU name, you count just as much as a Local with 5,000 members. The resources and strength of the entire union are available to you. All you have to do is ask.”  

The International conducted staff training with Local 248 and helped with its first “Family and Union Solidarity Day” picnic. Officers also were given a plaque with a photo of TWU International founder Michael Quill honoring the Local’s establishment in 1946. 

“It was a great day,” International Representative Cassandra Gilbert said. “Members came out to meet with the TUUS team. They played games, ate good food, and engaged with us. We talked about the new company that is taking over management of the bus service in Winston-Salem, REP-Dev, and assured them that we had their back.”  

International Representatives Jose Cruz, Jeffery Mitchell, and Christina Scott were also on the trip, along with Administrative Professional Sydni Gibbs. Local 248 President Fran Holt was grateful for the visit. 

“I really appreciate them taking time from their busy schedules to talk with the drivers and maintenance, answer their questions, and take the time to check in with us and be with us for the day,” she said. 

In Augusta, TUUS and Local leaders discussed the officers’ working relationship with Richmond County, which operates the school bus service. They also talked about union training sessions and bylaw changes.  

Georgia and North Carolina are both right-to-work states with laws designed to weaken unions and make it more difficult for them to organize, mobilize, and represent workers effectively. There also is a historical anti-union culture in the South fostered by employers, elected officials and other powerbrokers with monetary interests in keeping wages down and employees divided. They have maintained a steady drumbeat of negative propaganda about the motives and usefulness of unions, compounding that by varying degrees of intimidation tactics. This is particularly evident in Georgia, Tate said. 

“Employers won’t let you on property, and if they hear you are around, they will call the police,” he said. “Many members are even afraid to talk to you or take union literature for fear of being retaliated against. It’s starkly different than what you experience in states in other regions of the country.” 

The next TUUS road trip will be in October to several Midwestern states, including Ohio, Michigan, and Nebraska, Tate said.