FORT VALLEY, Ga. — President Joe Biden weighed in on the recent vote by workers at Blue Bird in Fort Valley to unionize.
Last week, 697 people voted to create their own union and 435 people voted against it, according to a spokeswoman for the United Steelworkers Union (USW), which worked with Blue Bird workers on setting up the election.
The vote took two days.
More than 2,400 people work at the bus factory, making it Peach County's largest employer.
On Sunday, President Biden released a statement congratulating the workers on voting to unionize. He said companies like Blue Bird are an integral part of America’s future.
The company has seven days to file an objection from when the vote was taken on May 12. Then, the National Labor Relations Bureau would certify and start negotiating a union contract.
So far, there's no timeline for when that would happen.
Here is the full statement from President Biden:
"Congratulations to the workers at Blue Bird in Fort Valley, Georgia, on their vote to unionize and join the United Steelworkers. The men and women at Blue Bird are building electric school buses that are powering America’s clean energy future, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and ensuring our kids breathe cleaner air. The fact is: the middle class built America. And unions built the middle class. That’s why my Investing in America Agenda is about creating good-paying jobs – jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, jobs you can raise a family on. Jobs where you get a free and fair choice to join a union.
Where is it written that America can’t lead the world again in manufacturing? The workers at Blue Bird, and at companies just like it all over the country, are proving the future can and will be built in America. And union workers will be a big part of that future."