Solidarity in the drivers’ seat

Steve Gillis, third from left, Feb. 7.
WW photo: Bryan G. Pfeifer

San Francisco — Steven Gillis, the fired vice president of United Steelworkers Local 8751 (Boston School Bus Drivers Union), spoke Feb. 7 to a packed hall of San Francisco school bus drivers, members of United Transportation Union Local 1741. The event was a powerful show of solidarity.

Gillis and the San Francisco bus drivers received each other warmly. UTU members presented Gillis with donations to assist in the fightback against corporate giant Veolia, which locked out the school bus drivers and fired four members of the elected union leadership last fall. Discussions centered around the current struggle in Boston to reinstate the four fired drivers, including Gillis, and how to build more solidarity between transportation workers and all other workers internationally.

Gillis traveled to the Bay Area Feb. 6-10 as part of the international fightback campaign against Veolia. He was a featured speaker at the Join the Fight Against Veolia: Stop Privatization, Defend Labor, Human Rights & the Environment conference held Feb. 8 in San Francisco. (See “Workers, activists fighting Veolia hold international conference” at workers.org.)