Blue Bird Bargaining Update: October 4, 2023

Click here to download this update as a PDF.

Macon Warehouse Will Move to Perry

Blue Bird announced to employees at the Macon Warehouse that the warehouse will move to Perry by the end of the year because their lease is up. Blue Bird has committed that this move will not result in any layoffs. We look forward to working with Blue Bird on a smooth and fair transition.

Appeals Process Is Working

Our Employee Reps have been hard at work representing members through our appeals process. This process involves 3 steps. The first step is for your employee reps and HR, and depending on the circumstances surrounding the discipline, it moves to step 2 which involves your employee reps and Alex Perkins from USW. We are pleased to report that when cases are getting to the 2nd step, we are having productive discussions. In fact, a member was just brought back to work in the South after facing termination.  The appeals process is an important achievement, but we still want to remind everyone to follow the rules.

Bargaining Update

We met with Blue Bird for 2 days last week, and our discussions were less productive. We raised the importance of a fair job bidding system that allows members to advance to different jobs and builds skills to do that. We made this proposal on July 25 and still haven’t seen a proposal back. Same with Seniority. We should be rewarded for our length of service. It should mean something instead of favoritism. We go back to the table Oct 17-18 and 24-25.

On a positive note, we now have a medical office in the South!

It will take all of us to win a fair contract at Blue Bird!