MANCHESTER, NH – Bedford bus drivers and New Hampshire employees of facility services provider Aramark are the latest Granite State workers to organize as members of Teamsters Local 633, based in Manchester.
Bus drivers and monitors at Student Transportation of America in Bedford recently voted to join the local, adding 55 members, Teamsters Local 633 announced Wednesday. Last month, 61 Aramark employees who work at a private school in Andover also voted to join the union, which represents more than 5,200 workers in New Hampshire. Earlier this year, emergency medical workers in Cheshire County, a group of 30, joined the local. Last June, 24 officers at the Belknap County Department of Corrections joined.
“From law enforcement officials to school bus drivers and monitors, Local 633 has seen an uptick in organizing victories in the last several months,” Jeff Padellaro, secretary-treasurer of Local 633, told Ink Link.
The drivers joined the Teamsters, “Because we know they will negotiate future contracts that promote our rights and a safe and fair atmosphere in the workplace. We all know that we deliver the most precious cargo there is — your children — to and from school every day and we deserve a fair contract,” Dan Battistelli, an STA bus driver, said in a news release announcing the union vote.
“Their work is invaluable to the Bedford community and must be rewarded with a strong union contract,” Padellaro said in the release. “We are proud to welcome another group of bus workers to Local 633 and we are looking forward to helping them secure their first Teamsters contract.”
STA is a private company that contracts with school districts to provide school bus service, including in Bedford, Bradford, Epsom, Goffstown, Londonderry, Merrimack, Pelham, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Rochester and Weare. It briefly contracted with Manchester, but the city recently moved to form its own transportation service.
Aramark, an international corporation, provides food and custodial services to colleges an businesses. The 61 New Hampshire Aramark workers who are now members of Local 633 members include bakers, cashiers, catering services workers, cooks, food prep workers, and general utility workers.
“This is another example of workers standing up and taking power into their own hands by joining the Teamsters,” Padellaro said in a March news release about their vote to unionize.
Aramark workers at the Andover prep school contacted the Teamsters several months before the vote, and organizers from Joint Council 10, which represents New England’s Teamster locals, met one-on-one with the workers to discuss issues, the process, and their rights, according to the news release.
Workers were looking for better wages, as well as “an equal playing field for all with no favoritism and overall respect,” organizers said.
“This organizing campaign was about advocating for these workers from start to finish,” Tom Mari, secretary-treasurer of Joint Council 10, said. “We met with them, talked about issues, and mapped out a road that led to victory and Teamsters representation. They are now part of a sisterhood and brotherhood that fights together, and wins.”
The Teamsters have many contracts with Aramark, in both food service and the company’s uniform divisions, Padellaro told Ink Link.
“Beyond Aramark, we represent tens of thousands of workers in all aspects of the food supply chain, from harvest to hospitality,” he said.
The Teamsters began in 1903 as a union representing team drivers, but the union now represents workers in a wide variety of industries. Joint Council 10 comprises 21 locals and more then 45,000 workers in the six New England states.
“One of our union’s mantras is that we represent workers from A to Z: airline mechanics to zookeepers,” Padellaro said. “Broadly speaking, the Teamsters are organizing in many new sectors. Within the past three years, Teamsters across the country have organized cannabis workers, political campaign staffers, and e-scooter technicians, among others.”
‘Right to Work’ opposition strong
The recent votes to organize come as SB 516-FN, a so-called “right to work” bill that would “prohibit collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join a labor union,” is slated for Friday’s Senate calendar. The Senate Committee on Commerce March 26 voted 3-2 that the bill ought to pass.
The House voted 212-168 in February against a similar bill. HB 1377 was indefinitely postponed, meaning that the topic can’t be considered again by the House until the next session, in 2026.
The House version would have prohibited collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union while still getting the benefits of the union contract, as well as putting limits on union negotiating.
Similar legislation has been introduced in New Hampshire several times over the decades, but has never made it into law.
Labor leaders noted that the opposition to the most recent House bill was the strongest in years. By the time a public hearing was held on the bill in January, 887 people had signed in to oppose it with 29 signing in to support it.
Besides Local 633, opposition came from SEA/SEIU Local 1984 which represents more than 10,000 public and private sector workers in New Hampshire; the American Federation of Teachers, which represents more than 3,700; the National Education Association-NH, the United Steelworkers, United Ironworkers, as well as other labor unions.
The day of the Senate committee vote last week, Teamsters Local 633 Business Agent Keith Judge, organizer Alyssa Croteau and Recording Secretary Scott Gove spoke in opposition to it.
Padellaro said in a news release the next day, “Our State House of Representatives already voted down this legislation because attacks on workers’ rights have no support among New Hampshire voters. The anti-union politicians who held this hearing just so they could grandstand should be embarrassed. I’m proud that we were there to call this out for what it was – a charade.”
Padellaro told Ink Link this week that, in general, there’s renewed worker interest in unions.
“There’s no denying the organizing momentum we are seeing across the country,” Padellaro said. “There’s been a clear shift in the employer-employee dynamic, and workers no longer feeling indebted to their employers, and instead standing up and demanding respect, fair treatment, and compensation for the services that they are providing to employers. That’s why we are seeing workers in nearly every state and sector rising up and demanding a seat at the table – and joining a union gives them the voice they want and deserve.”