2 weeks Ago
A First Student school bus heads south on Old Scenic Highway from Copper Mill Elementary, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Zachary, La. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Just a few months after unionizing, privately employed school bus drivers in Central and Zachary have voted to unspecified "job action" which, if not resolved, could disrupt school operations for the 10,000-plus children who attend public schools in those communities.
School bus giant First Student Inc. employs drivers and other transportation workers, who now are part of Amalgamated Transit Union, ATU, Local 1546. "First Student has continuously downplayed our members' contributions and ignored their safety," George DeCuir, president Local 1546 said Wednesday in a news release.
"Our members are deeply hurt and disappointed to be forced into this situation, but they are no longer willing to work under these unsafe and demeaning conditions." The press release did not say when or what kind of job action is contemplated, but it said that in order to avoid "further disruption," First Student and leaders of the two school districts need to "engage in meaningful dialogue and act responsibly." The superintendents of Central and Zachary, reached Wednesday, said they had not heard about the union vote, but they planned to reach out to their First Student counterparts to learn more.
The Advocate has reached out to First Student seeking comment. In the press release, Decuir said they "voted overwhelming" in support of the job action and did so mainly because of "inhuman and unsafe" working conditions and job duties for First Student workers that include: Operating buses that are out of compliance with federal safety standards Operating buses with broken air conditioning and heating. Having to clean up "bodily fluids" left by students and doing so without proper personal protection equipment, or PPE.
Handling diesel exhaust fluid without proper training or protections These conditions are not only unjust—they are inhumane and unsafe. "We are very sorry for the impact this will have on students and families," DeCuir said, "but our members can no longer, in good conscience, operate under conditions that jeopardize their health and the safety of the children they transport." Both Central and Zachary are about to go on Easter break starting Friday and won't return to school until Monday, April 28.
First Student workers in Central and Zachary – about 350 of them – voted last year to join ATU Local 1546; the union is based in suburban Washington, D.C. Also joining the union then were workers who provided bus service for a handful of charter schools: Great Hearts Harveston, South Baton Rouge Charter Academy, Lanier Elementary, Dalton Elementary and Prescott Academy.
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