Unionized Hudson school bus workers secure pay boost with supplemental contract

Just over a month after they voted to unionize in November, Hudson school bus drivers and monitors have secured a pay boost and other benefits after voting to approve a five-year supplemental agreement. 

The new agreement covers work rules that are specific to Hudson and includes significant wage increases, guaranteed hours, employer 401(k) contributions, and other performance and attendance-related bonuses, according to a press release issued by Teamsters Local 170 on Friday. 

“First Student Teamsters play an important role in the Hudson community and ensure our children get to and from school safely,” Shannon George, secretary-treasurer of Local 170 and member of WBJ’s 2023 Power 50 class, said in the release. “This supplemental agreement raises the bar for the entire industry and ensures that these Teamsters are paid their fair share.”

The 29 bus drivers and monitors employed in Hudson with First Student, an Ohio-based provider of school bus services, voted to join Teamsters Local 170, a union based in Worcester, in November. Workers are covered under the Teamsters’ First Student National Master Agreement, which the union says is the largest collective bargaining agreement at any private school bus company in the United States. 

Founded in 1933, Teamsters has nearly 4,300 members and $4 million in assets, making it the fifth largest union in Massachusetts.