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Wake County NC school bus drivers go on strike

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rahl

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'Many' school buses not running in Wake County as bus drivers demand better compensation

A significant number of Wake County school bus drivers followed through on their plan to not work Friday and could do so again Monday.
abc11.com

I'm all for negotiating a higher salary for yourself, but i draw the line on strikes. I'm a parent in this county and I now have to drive my kids to/from school when i am PAYING for the service of school transportation. Every single person who walked off on strike should be fired IMO
 
Yep, had to drive my kids in this morning. Will pick them up again this afternoon.

I understand the feelings on this, but this is something that happens and firing them isn't going to make the problem better at all. In fact, it would just make it worse.

Overall though, I like this school district. This is something though districts are facing almost everywhere. There are huge bus driver shortages around the country.

No Bus Drivers, Custodians, or Subs. What's Really Behind Schools' Staffing Shortages?

Dismal pay, certification requirements, and longstanding disrespect are causing many classified workers to quit.
www.edweek.org

My boss lives in a southern county, and she had to drive her kids in at the beginning of the week due to bus issues. It happens.
 
What's the most important thing? Getting the kids to school safely.

There's a labor shortage. Pissing off the drivers you already have and then firing them and then trying to find a bunch of newbies isn't the answer.

I'm working a pretty shitty job at school right now. I'm good at my job and I love my kids and my coworkers but the pay and conditions are terrible and our staff is thin, thin, thin because of it. My boss knows I hold the cards right now. Because I'm not a jerk, I don't take advantage of it but it has been tough to stick it out for the sake of the kids.

I don't need to make a living wage, I have other sources of income. If I had to rely on my job for my sole source of income I'd be gone in a hot minute.
 
rahl said:
I'm a parent in this county and I now have to drive my kids to/from school when i am PAYING for the service of school transportation.
Click to expand...
If yours is like the schools around here, you'll also have wait in a line a mile long as each kid is escorted inside or to your car.
 
Taylor said:
If yours is like the schools around here, you'll also have wait in a line a mile long as each kid is escorted inside or to your car.
Click to expand...
As a parent in this school district, no, at least not all schools or most in my experience (we did car pool all of the time they were in person last year to cut down on bus shortage issues). There was no line at my children's school when I dropped them off this morning. In fact, one of the teachers had a bucket to give out Halloween candy to each student. This is true at least for drop off.

Now, pick up is completely different. That requires a line but there really isn't much other way to do it when you have hundreds of kids getting picked up.
 
There is a shortage of bus drivers across the country!

From the article:
Because of the shortage, some of the drivers have gone from serving two schools a day to five or six -- with no extra pay for the extra routes.
 
Common Sense 1 said:
There is a shortage of bus drivers across the country!

From the article:
Because of the shortage, some of the drivers have gone from serving two schools a day to five or six -- with no extra pay for the extra routes.
Click to expand...
Yep. We have been getting our kids home an hour later than normal all year (at least since traditional started back). We had to pick them up one day from school too because right before the HS let go, there was a bomb threat there. Since the bus drivers almost all, if not all, go from HS to MS to ES, that meant that our kids weren't getting home until late (probably after 5/6pm) that day. We luckily have a flexible schedule, still working from home, allowing us to pick them up (or drop off like this morning).
 
Taylor said:
If yours is like the schools around here, you'll also have wait in a line a mile long as each kid is escorted inside or to your car.
Click to expand...
holy crap. i've never seen a line a mile long.

i will say that i've seen long lines for picking up kids though. but that's while we parents are in line waiting for school to let out.
 
I just don't like employees trying to strong arm employers by harming the citizens of the county that depend on the service that we are PAYING for. Rewarding striking employees is the wrong thing to do. Fire every one of them who walked off. Will hurt in the short term but in the long run make for a more stable environment.
 
Taylor said:
If yours is like the schools around here, you'll also have wait in a line a mile long as each kid is escorted inside or to your car.
Click to expand...
that's how it is here currently as well, and that's before this strike.
 
It's going to hurt period, the whole run because there aren't any workers to take their places. They deserve better pay, more compensation.
 
rahl said:
that's how it is here currently as well, and that's before this strike.
Click to expand...
Don't know what school you are in, but that is not the case at our school for morning dropoff especially. And even afternoon pickup is not a mile out for our schools. I'm in Wake county too.
 
You have a very myopic view of the situation. Your own article says the drivers are being asked to do extra work for no pay. Do you think that's fair? How do expect the district will hire new drivers if their shitty employment practices are all over the news?
 
Kids have had a tough time lately. No in person school and now spending extra time trying to get to and from school.
Great that you had the flexibility to transport your kids.
 
roguenuke said:
It's going to hurt period, the whole run because there aren't any workers to take their places. They deserve better pay, more compensation.
Click to expand...
I agree, but striking should not be rewarded. Negotiate with your employer by all means. But if I told my employer I wasn't going to come to work until I was paid more, they would fire me.
 
does anyone know who pays the salaries of the school bus drivers? is it some kind of pool when pretty much everyone in that area throws some $$$$ in to pay them?
 
rahl said:
I agree, but striking should not be rewarded. Negotiate with your employer by all means. But if I told my employer I wasn't going to come to work until I was paid more, they would fire me.
Click to expand...
and if your employer holds a hard line?
 
roguenuke said:
Don't know what school you are in, but that is not the case at our school for morning dropoff especially. And even afternoon pickup is not a mile out for our schools. I'm in Wake county too.
Click to expand...
My kids go to hunter elementary. Morning drop off is not near as bad, but the afternoon pick up line is over a mile long every day.
 
Common Sense 1 said:
Kids have had a tough time lately. No in person school and now spending extra time trying to get to and from school.
Great that you had the flexibility to transport your kids.
Click to expand...
My kids are adaptable, even my youngest (who is on the spectrum). They are amazing in how flexible they are. Now, the youngest is getting a little annoyed by the waiting, but I'm trying to give him extra options, things he can do to pass the time.
 
Then negotiate with your employer for better pay. Walking off the job should be grounds for immediate dismissal.
 
rahl said:
My kids go to hunter elementary. Morning drop off is not near as bad, but the afternoon pick up line is over a mile long every day.
Click to expand...
Afternoon pickup is going to be longer because again, that is hundreds of students (and then parents) waiting to get picked up from school. No one is going to be able to handle that well logistically. It just is what it is.

Now, there are some schools that had their locations and where their lines go planned horribly, but that is likely due to development of the area more than planning for the school themselves, in most cases.
 
rahl said:
Then negotiate with your employer for better pay. Walking off the job should be grounds for immediate dismissal.
Click to expand...
In your opinion.

You're angry because you have to drive your kids to school. Do you have any empathy for the poor working conditions of the people who drive your kids and hundreds of other of kids to school every day?
 
rahl said:
I agree, but striking should not be rewarded. Negotiate with your employer by all means. But if I told my employer I wasn't going to come to work until I was paid more, they would fire me.
Click to expand...
Strikes don't work that way. If this was a single or a few workers, then yes, they would likely get fired. But that is the point. Collective bargaining is all about using the power of the many to force the hands.

Parents may complain, but many are going to be more likely to pressure the county to do more to get bus drivers, keep them.
 
rahl said:
time to find a new job
Click to expand...
which someone then replaces you and the employer still holds a hard line against them (and all other employees).

i find it really interesting that if a company does similar things (threatens to fire a supplier/vendor unless they lower their price) it's brilliant (the Walmart model). if employees threaten to fire the employer/strike it's insubordination.
 
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