District Short 70 School Bus Drivers, Union Outraged

MASTIC BEACH, NY — Classes are set to start next week at the William Floyd School District, but so far there's a shortage of 70 school bus drivers.

According to a release from the William Floyd School District, the "former transportation provider, East End Bus Lines signed a five-year contract beginning in the 2016 to 2017 school year. The owner twice demanded additional money under threat of cessation of services. As good stewards of the community’s resources and because it is against the law, the William Floyd School District emphatically said 'no.'"

Next, according to the release, "on the third occasion in July, 2018, the owner of East End Bus Lines demanded an additional $16.5 million over the remaining three years of the contract — $5.5 million per year — or else he would not fulfill his duties per the contract."

The district then rebid the contract, notified the New York State Comptroller’s Office as well as the New York State Education Department about "this unreasonable and unauthorized behavior," the district said.

On Aug. 10 the district awarded the contract to Acme Bus Corp., "the lowest responsible bidder by general municipal law," the district said. "The new provider, Acme Bus Corp., has been unable to come to an agreement with the former East End bus drivers on William Floyd routes. So transportation for the district’s nearly 9,000 students is in jeopardy unless the bus drivers and Acme can come to an agreement."

A request for comment from East End Bus Lines was not immediately returned.

Kevin Coster, Superintendent of Schools, sent a message to parents and the community, discussing the situation with East End Bus Lines and said Acme is "currently short 70 large bus drivers." There are positions open at Acme; former William Floyd bus drivers could apply and continue working, he said. If those drivers are not in place by the start of the school year, "There will be delays and disruptions. We are planning for all scenarios and looking for ways to provide relief," including before and after care at the school district, he said.

Wendy Sidman, human resources business partner for Acme/Baumann & Sons Buses, said since the company was awarded the contract, they have worked "diligently" to get everything in place for the start of the school year.

"We have the buses and have been working on hiring drivers. Currently we are looking for large bus drivers. We welcome the previous drivers that drove the William Floyd routes," she said.

The company, she said, has an agreement with Teamsters Local 1205, who would represent the drivers, stating that if the "large bus drivers drove for William Floyd previously and they start working for us on the first day of school, they will be able to pick their routes within their previous seniority. They will start as non-probationary employees. This will give them a guarantee of weeks as spelled out in our collective bargaining agreement. We are also adding a $600 bonus that they will receive after 12 consecutive weeks of employment," she said.

But the situation has caused protest amongst the bus drivers' union and parents.

Debra Hagen, president, TWU Local 252, spoke out. "It is so very important for our community to understand the plight of the lowest paid employees serving the school district," she said.

In a statement, she said: "Local 252 of the Transport Workers Union is upset and distressed over the disparate treatment that our school bus drivers and driver assistants have been experiencing over the last few weeks.

"The William Floyd School district engaged in a last minute dispute with East End Bus Lines/Floyd Bus and as a result of that action the 267 school bus drivers and driver assistants that have been living in and serving the William Floyd community for decades are being harmed," she said. "The company that was brought in last minute to replace East End Bus Lines/Floyd Bus is not providing same pay and benefits that our drivers and driver assistants just had in June. Despite knowing exactly what drivers and driver assistants were paid for this work in June, the new company is proposing massive pay and benefits cuts to drive the same routes, and the school district is helping them do so."

She added: "In short, because a district with a multimillion dollar budget decided to switch one multimillion dollar company with another multimillion dollar company at a higher cost, 267 local people are being harmed. The replacement company is not even offering positions to all the former William Floyd drivers and driver assistants; instead they are bringing people from outside this community to fill the positions at a reduced wage."

According to Hagan, the pay for school bus drivers and driver assistants is very low. Local people are hired because the low pay doesn't cover the cost of a long commute, she said.

In June, William Floyd school bus drivers were paid around $29,100 for the year; they also had several benefits including 401K contributions, attendance bonuses, and longevity bonus, she said. With the district's new corporate pick that same school bus driver, driving the same route is being offered $22,600,she said.

Driver assistants serving special needs children only were paid $17,000 on average last year two months later they are offered $13,000, she said.

"When faced with the impact of that type of reduction the results are catastrophic for these longtime school district bus drivers and driver assistants," she said. School bus drivers and driver assistants are being forced to carry the burden of making ends meet with far less money to work with, she said.

"We all know grocery bills are not getting any less and utility bills are not going down. Yet the school district expects the bus drivers and driver assistants to just make do. That is wrong and no low income family should receive that kind of treatment from the community," she said. "We would not tolerate this treatment of our teachers of our children in the classroom, we should not tolerate the treatment of those we entrust to get our children to that classroom safely and home safely each and every day."

Parents have raised questions, blasting the district on social media: "Why is the William Floyd School District using our district office, website, and school grounds to advertise employment needs for a private company?" one person wrote. "At the school board meeting it was stated that the district has nothing to do with the hiring or rates offered by the new bus company . . but they are doing just that. How is it that not a conflict when the district pulled the contract from the former company for asking for more money but awarded it to Acme for more money and now assisting them as well by providing teachers vehicle parking lot to the bus company for bus parking?"

Another mom pointed out, though, that the district did the same for other bus companies in the past, not just for Acme, and said comments from residents questioning the district's actions did not represent the feelings of all in the community.

And, in fact, some parents say the majority are in support of the district's actions: "We feel for the drivers but Debra Hagan's comments about low income affect us all — so she, in actuality, is saying pay higher taxes for the rest of her union drivers. How does that make any sense; we have the same bills as the drivers do. How about you, Debra Hagan, president of the union, take it up with the new union!" said Patti Connelly. "The majority of the community is actually supporting the BOE's opinions and actions to protect our taxes and money."

Others were upset that driver assistants, who care for special needs children, will be hit was a wage reduction; some questioned whether security and background checks for new drivers, entrusted with the safety of students, could be done in time for the new school year.

Patch photo by Lisa Finn.