Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations Tom Secrest joined First Student in 1997. His Shared Services responsibilities include leadership of the human resources, labor relations, EEO, performance management, compensation, training, recruiting and criminal background check functions.
Tom joined Ryder in 1997 as a labor counsel and supported Ryder/ATE in all labor matters. Tom remained with the company upon its acquisition by First Student in 1999 and has served in multiple positions of increasing scope and responsibility.
“At First Student, we recognize that our people are our competitive advantage. Our drivers are the faces of student transportation. We work hard to recruit, develop and retain the best employees in the industry.”
Tom has served as chief negotiator in over 200 collective bargaining agreements, and defended hundreds of arbitrations and NLRB matters. Tom currently serves as Management Trustee on the Amalgamated Transit Union’s 401(k) Trust and the Teamsters’ Multi-State Benefit Trust.
Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in labor relations from the ILR School at Cornell University and a law degree from the University of Dayton.