Employees of local transportation services provider join Connecticut's school bus workers' union for a voice on the job in delivering quality, reliable services
HARTFORD—In a victory for local students and their families, an overwhelming majority of West Hartford school bus drivers voted Friday to unite in CSEA/SEIU Local 2001. The election results will empower the employees of Durham School Services, the corporation contracted to West Hartford Public Schools for student transportation services, with a greater voice on the job. In addition to the ability to address economic inequities, the vote paves the ways for local school bus drivers to lead for quality, reliable services and higher safety standards.
"This is about fairness and equality" school bus driver Sor Flores said of the election, in which 94% of her co-workers voted to unionize. "School bus drivers working in West Hartford have one paid holiday per year, and next door in Hartford, the drivers have six. The difference is they have a union voice" she continued. "That's just one reason why West Hartford has been losing so many qualified drivers" Flores, a member of the organizing committee that coordinated the drive to unite her co-workers, concluded.
Hundreds of school bus drivers across Connecticut have united in CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 to establish their rights to representation and drive up standards in the student transportation industry. A November, 2006 school bus accident that left a West Hartford man dead prompted many of the union's members to lobby State lawmakers on the need to compel private transportation contractors to raise safety standards for the families they serve and economic standards for workers they employ.
"For as long as I have been a school bus driver we have been underpaid, unappreciated and disrespected" school bus driver Jim Rinaldo added. "We carry the most precious cargo, and it's about time our pay reflected that" Rinaldo, a seven year veteran school bus driver, concluded, referring to the $13.30 starting wage Durham offers school bus drivers.
Durham is a subsidiary of National Express, a multinational transportation provider operating bus and rail services worldwide. Despite reporting global corporate profits of $246.2 million in 2005, the company has a record of low pay and high turnover among its US workforce.
CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 represents 25,000 active and retired public sector workers serving in state, municipal, and town agencies, as well as local school boards across Connecticut. The union's membership also includes workers with non-profit organizations and private companies contracted to provide public services through state, and local government agencies. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information about the union's "Driving Up Standards" efforts.