School bus drivers mobilize to win historic contract

Drivers rally in June in show of strength. WW photo: Ed Childs

Militant rank-and-file action combined with a recognized struggle history and solidarity between labor and the community has resulted in an historic contract victory for USW Local 8751, the Boston School Bus Drivers union. The victory includes over $6 million in wage and benefit enhancements, significant improvements in working conditions and an historic agreement restricting the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Homeland Security’s high-tech supersurveillance incursion into the workplace.

The contract battle was characterized by full militant rank-and-file participation throughout. It succeeded in beating back all concessions and cuts demanded by the company, winning new benefits like long term disability insurance and protections against reductions in force and abuse of global positioning systems, and resolving a five-year backlog of grievances.

Workers made these gains during a time of economic crisis, when concessions and givebacks are the rule. Such a victory showed how workers can fight back, relying on rank-and-file mobilization and militancy.

On the final day of negotiations on Aug. 20, over 200 drivers filled the parking lot of the Local 8751 union hall where the negotiations were taking place, and stayed throughout the day to support the negotiating committee. The negotiators for the company, backed by representatives of the city, the School Committee and the mayor, all had to walk through the militant crowd of drivers to get to the negotiating session.

The same struggle mood filled the negotiating sessions at the end of June and in early July. On June 21, hundreds of drivers rallied at the site of the company’s route assignment process for summer runs with the slogans “No contract, no work!” “No cuts, no concessions!” and “Will strike if provoked!”

Community support was strong for the drivers’ struggle for a fair contract. The driver workforce is over 85 percent of Haitian origin. The Black community radio station TouchRadio 106.1 hosted several shows featuring the drivers, who exposed the greed of First Student, the British transportation monopoly that has a sweetheart multimillion dollar contract with the School Department plus $8 million in signing bonuses.

City Councilors Chuck Turner and Charles Yancey have been strong supporters, speaking at the solidarity rally the union held on June 21 and on other occasions. Community activists including members of the Labor Solidarity Committee of the International Action Center and the Work for Quality parent coalition have shown consistent support.

Labor support was evident all along the way, organized by allies Tony Hernandez, organizer for District 35, Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO, and IBEW local 2222 leader Miles Calvey. Over 250 supporters from 15 countries and 35 states sent in an IAC Labor Solidarity Committee online petition to the mayor, the transportation director and the company vice president supporting the drivers.

The drivers’ struggle was organically connected to the community’s struggle to defend access to quality education for oppressed communities. Together they confronted a racist attack by the mayor and racist forces on the Boston City Council. The union spoke out strongly at hearings where access to equal education was under attack. Their contract struggle was also a strong factor setting back the racists’ plans.

Drivers won important protections against abuse of global positioning systems (GPS). These protections can serve as a model for other unions fighting this homeland security type high-tech attack on the workers. The union made significant gains in restricting the abuse of GPS for cutting drivers’ wages and hours and disciplining drivers.

This big-brother style high-tech surveillance represents a clear and present danger to workers in every industry throughout the country, from letter carriers to tow truck operators to taxi drivers. The school bus drivers broke ground by challenging Homeland Security and the state’s spying on the workers and thus becoming part of management.

The full text of the agreement on GPS can be found on the union’s Web site at www.bostonschoolbusunion.org.