TWU Local 226 members employed by First Student school bus company in Paramus, NJ ratified a new three-year contract last month in near unanimous fashion.

International Vice President Susan Resch, who assisted the Local during bargaining, told the Express that the agreement provides drivers with a 70 cents per hour increase in each year of the 3 years (representing an average 4.6% salary hike) and attendants a 50 cents per hour raise each year, (representing a 5.35% boost annually).

Other details include holiday pay for Martin Luther King’s Birthday, a new procedure for job bidding, COPE check off, method to use personal days for an emergency, and a grandfather clause for company co-pays for those who have health insurance and an open enrollment for those who want to participate in the new health insurance offered by First Student at the employee’s cost.

Photo below shows, from the left: Local President John Bradford, Treasurer Jackie Casado, Resch, and Executive Board member George Ross.