#school bus drivers

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Brooklyn, NYC: Parents to Improve School Transportation (PIST) and allies rally to demand a School Bus Bill of Rights for students, drivers and families, March 19, 2022.

Money for school buses, not war and cops!

Photos by redguard

[dr-archeville]

School bus driver protest causes headaches for Wake families, brings pledge of support from district officials :: WRAL.com

Dozens of school bus drivers in Wake County are participating in a mass "sick-out" on Friday to protest working conditions and demand for better pay.

Cary, N.C. — Dozens of school bus drivers in Wake County participated in a mass "sick-out" on Friday to protest working conditions and demand better pay, leaving parents to find other ways to get their children to school.

"Due to significant bus driver absences in some areas of the county, parents should prepare for the possibility of significant bus driver absences this afternoon," officials posted on the Wake County Public School System website on Friday afternoon.

"If possible, parents should arrange their own transportation for their students," the statement continued. "This is true even if bus transportation was available this morning, as we are uncertain which drivers will be available."

Parents were urged to check online for updated information on individual bus routes.

“We are putting our families and our students in a tough situation when we have students not picked up or left at school," school board Chairman Keith Sutton said.

On Friday morning, dozens of routes listed on the district's transportation website included the notation "No driver available. Route is uncovered." A district spokeswoman said one-third of the 600 buses didn't operate on Friday morning.

Many parents said their children walked to school, or they drove them when buses didn't show at the regular stops.

"When I got done dropping him off, there were kids still standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive," Wake Forest parent Cory Silker said.

"Green Level High School had multiple buses that did not show up this morning/are not running this afternoon," one woman wrote on the WRAL Facebook page. "I took a car full of kids to school that didn't have rides."

Another parent said her child reported only one bus arrived at their school.

District officials apologized for the inconvenience on Friday morning, but by Friday afternoon, they were apologizing to bus drivers who felt they needed to take action to get noticed.

"The pay and salary structure for the work we do is not adequate," Sutton and Superintendent Cathy Moore wrote in a message to school district staff. "Our bus drivers shone a harsh light on this reality."

Bus drivers have said that their concerns about being overworked and underpaid remain unaddressed.

"When I say stressful, it is like, beyond stressful," one driver told WRAL News. "You have some drivers out here that are on food stamps and that are on housing assistance."

Moore and Sutton noted that many drivers have to run up to six routes a day – double the normal workload – without receiving any extra compensation. They noted most school staffers are likewise overworked and underpaid.

"While it is never acceptable for any of us to deny services to families, it is important we understand we are all facing a similar problem of low pay made worse by the pandemic," they wrote.

The school board is expected to approve a $1,250 "recognition and retention bonus" for every district employee at next Tuesday's board meeting.

"This is just the first step toward recognizing your work and efforts to date," Moore and Sutton wrote, saying the board also is likely to consider extra pay for additional bus routes or teaching duties.

A district spokeswoman said administrators hope to see additional salary increases for school employees once a final state budget is passed.

A former bus driver who quit over the pay and workload issues applauded the drivers who took part in Friday's protest.

"I am proud of them. I am so proud that they are taking a stand, but it needs to be consistent," she said. "They need to do it every day, every day, every day until their demands are met."

Sutton said he hopes that doesn't happen.

"We do understand the frustration they are feeling, the challenges that we are up against as a system," he said. "I am hopeful we can alleviate that and arrive at mutually agreeable solutions to keep this from spilling over into Monday."

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[outofcontextstuff]

[leftpress]

Solidarity With Striking Seattle School Bus Drivers

Joshua Koritz | Socialist Alternative | January 19th 2018 This solidarity statement was originally published by Social Equity Educators, a rank and file caucus of Seattle Education Association. The statement was authored by Matt Maley, a Seattle teacher, union activist, and member of Socialist Alternative. January 15, 2018 SEA Stands in Solidarity with the Seattle School Bus Drivers! After a one day strike of school bus drivers on […]

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[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Get our children to school on time!

By Stephen Millies

A rally in Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza on March 19 demanded better school transportation. They were sick and tired of school bus routes that guarantee children having to wait for and stay on school buses for too long.

The rally was organized by Parents to Improve School Transportation (PIST) and the Comité Timon. These groups are demanding a school bus bill of rights to ensure respect for the riders’ civil rights, the workers’ job rights and everyone’s safety.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

NYC student advocates mark National Transit Equity Day

On Feb. 4, Parents to Improve School Transportation (PIST NYC) convened education, disability, and labor advocates to expose multiple facets of New York City’s chronic student transportation failures and to propose solutions via a School Bus Bill of Rights.

The event, marking the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks – Transit Equity Day – brought together a diverse group of parents and caregivers, elected officials, the local Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and environmentalists.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

#MarchForOurLives: Boston school bus drivers march in solidarity with students, March 24, 2018.

Via Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Seattle school bus drivers strike

By Jim McMahan

Four hundred school bus drivers held a one-day strike Nov. 29 against First Student, the big national contractor. The strike shut down all school bus transportation in the Seattle school district, which has almost 50,000 students. Teamsters Local 174 announced the strike a day early to give families notice that they would need to find other means of transportation.

The unfair labor practice strike was called after First Student unilaterally cut back its medical plan for the workers. A driver on the picket line described not having access to the health care plan despite the fact that she has cancer. The workers are also striking against a woefully inadequate retirement plan.

A big turnout of multinational drivers was on picket lines at both First Student bus lots. Another strike could be called at any time if a fair agreement is not reached. And “it will not just last one day,” asserted Local 174 President Rick Hicks.