STA agrees to honor wages for current drivers, monitors, and aides negotiated with the district's previous school bus contractor; Union members postpone possible job action until October
NEW LONDON—An agreement was reached Thursday between New London's school bus workforce and their employer that extends the deadline for a previously authorized strike tentatively scheduled to begin today. The members of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 also moved representatives of Student Transportation of America (STA) to honor previously negotiated pay increases for the current and previous years of their contract with the district's former school bus services provider. Under the agreement, the bus drivers, monitors, and aides will hold off on any job action until October 25 if negotiations with STA fail to produce a mutually acceptable successor contract.
"For too long, STA was treating us like we were invisible," said Maggie Scott, a bus driver with nearly 10 years of service in New London Public Schools. "Most of us felt like we were being disrespected and ignored, even though we face a lot of obstacles and provide such an important service for the community's children. STA didn't take us seriously until we said we were going to strike," said Scott, a member of the negotiating committee for the CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 chapter that represents STA's pupil transportation workforce in the district.
Scott's comments refer to efforts by local school bus workers to resolve a nearly yearlong dispute with STA, the New Jersey-based company contracted by New London's Board of Education in June 2009. In January, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) intervened and compelled the company to commence negotiations. After direct talks with STA failed to produce a contract that preserved local school bus services and maintained employment conditions for the workforce, the drivers sought support from school officials in May.
"What companies like STA have been doing is undermining and undercutting their workforce," said David Robinson, who has worked as a school bus driver for the district's contractors for nine years. "We've been disrespected and pushed aside. And all we were asking for is the conditions that the company said they would honor last year," said Robinson, also a member of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001.
Robinson and his co-workers see this first written agreement as a potential turning point in further discussions over remaining unresolved issues with STA. They plan to continue seeking the support and understanding of the community's parents and school officials as they strive to hold New London's bus contractor accountable to fair labor and quality transportation standards.
CSEA/SEIU Local 2001's nearly 25,000 members are retired and active public sector workers in state, municipal, and local schools' agencies across Connecticut, as well as workers employed by non-profit organizations and private companies contracted to provide public services. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information about the union's efforts to "Drive Up Standards" in the student transportation industry.
# # #