Seattle School Bus Workers to Press On

opinion by Jobs With Justice

Union school bus drivers and mechanics, Teamster 763 and Machinist 239 members respectively, are moving forward after a disturbing but not surprising decision by the Seattle School Board to end the union contracts. At the meeting, Board Member Mary Bass was our hero and her eloquence and passion in support of workers' rights inspires many of us to continue this struggle. A large group of Teamster school bus drivers met after the school board vote and solidarity was strong. The drivers resolved to continue the fight for respect and living wage jobs by educating the public about the impact of the School Board vote on working people, students, parents, and our community. Many drivers will apply to the non-union companies (First Student and Durham) and they have resolved to continue to struggle to insure that school bus work pays a living wage, with fair benefits and a voice on the job.

The Fighting Teamsters are showing that we will not roll over to anti-worker privatization and multinational corporations eliminating our living wage jobs and forcing taxpayers to subsidize poverty wage jobs with welfare, food stamps, Medicare, and low income housing.

The 200 most senior drivers at the unionized Laidlaw school bus company, which has now been abandoned by the School Board, averaged over 13 years' experience providing safe, nurturing transport of Seattle school children. The non-union contractor guarantees that half its drivers will have six months' experience or more. The industry standard is one mechanic per 20 buses. Laidlaw employs one mechanic per 17 buses. The non-union contractor proposes one mechanic for every 42 buses.