Bus Drivers Picket In West Hartford

Published Dec. 9, 2008 at 4:03 p.m.

Looks like this could be the first of many picket lines we might see in lovely West Hartford.

The Hartford Courant's story said that

The town's school bus drivers gathered in front of town hall after their morning routes Monday to demand higher wages and affordable health insurance.

Chanting, "We're freezin' for a reason," about two dozen drivers paced in the 19-degree weather to put negotiating pressure on their employer, First Student Inc. of Cincinnati. The West Hartford school system began a five-year contract with the company this summer to transport about 6,000 students on a fleet of new school buses.

The drivers voted to unionize and form a chapter of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 in May, when Durham School Services, a national and private school bus company based in Illinois, was the school system's transportation contractor. Drivers had to reapply for their jobs when First Student took over the West Hartford contract, and First Student hired most of those who applied...

Sor Flores said she works 25 hours a week as a West Hartford school bus driver, making $14.85 an hour after four years on the job. Some of her colleagues have quit to work in Hartford, where schools bus drivers, on average, make $2 to $3 more per hour than their West Hartford counterparts, according to Osten.

"I know a lot of drivers who have two jobs," said Flores, 39, a New Britain mother of four. She said she can't afford the company's health insurance plan. "We need more money."

Honestly, these bus drivers ought to be glad they have a job in this economy! The "living wage" argument is not convincing - driving a bus is a part-time gig and was never meant to be a "living wage", nor was it meant to provide first class health insurance benefits.

Currently, minimum wage in CT is $7.65 an hour...Governor Rell vetoed the bill which would have increased it to $8.00 an hour in May 2008.

The one bus driver quoted above makes $14.85 an hour. That is more than twice the amount of minimum wage. If one is working 25 hours a week and making $371.25 - that is $1,485 a month (4 weeks) and $14,850 for 10 months. They get school holidays off too...Sounds like a nice part-time gig to me, and one which doesn't require daycare if you are a parent, because you can bring your kid(s) on the bus with you.

Sure, drivers in Hartford make more money per hour - it's sort of akin to combat pay. Driving a bus in West Hartford is most likely a much easier job, although now one must dodge those pesky medians and bike lanes in West Hartford. (aw...don't fret, I like the bike lanes...)

How about no raises, and in fact let's cut the number of buses West Hartford uses and make more West Hartford kids walk to school, or encourage them to bike to school, and save some energy.


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