Georgia-based Blue Bird ratifies first union contract in historic push for labor rights

Last month, over 1,500 Fort Valley workers at Electric School bus maker Blue Bird recently ratified their first union contract.

The previous year, employees at the nearly 100-year-old company voted overwhelmingly to join the United Steel Workers, a major win for unions in the South and one of Georgia’s most notable labor victories in 2023.

“It was a lot of mixed emotions,” said Dee Thomas, a Blue Bird worker for over a decade. “We know it was a make-or-break moment on the job. We knew that if we didn’t get the vote in that it may never happen.”