School Drivers' Local Approves Wage Contract;
Deal Places Limit On Owner Contributions To Health Fund

By RICHARD STEIER

Members of the union representing school bus drivers July 18 overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year wage contract that provides pay hikes of 3, 4 and 3.5 percent and increased management contributions to their pension fund but for the first time places a limit on health-benefit reimbursements.

SIMON JEAN-BAPTISTE: Suspicions confirmed.

Addressing roughly 400 members in the auditorium of John Adams High School in Queens, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 President Salvatore Battaglia described the deal as "a bittersweet victory" because of the struggle over management's demand that employees contribute 1.5 percent of their earnings towards their health insurance premiums. Such contributions were agreed to last December by two ATU locals representing city bus drivers in Staten Island and Queens and by Transport Workers' Union Local 100.

'They Were Adamant'

Mr. Battaglia told his members that the coalition of school bus owners "were very adamant about getting the 1.5 contribution from every member" because of increases in health-care costs of as much as 18 percent a year. He drew cheers from the crowd when he added, "There will be no contributions for your healthcare benefits."

RAYMOND LaROCHE: Who says no givebacks?

There will, in fact, be limits imposed on management contributions to the union's welfare fund as an alternative method of controlling health costs, the owners' chief negotiator, Jeffrey Pollack, revealed two days later.

"There's a fixed contribution amount for each of the three years," he said, with management contributing $748 per member in the deal's first year, $838 in the second, and $939 in the third. If the 8,400 members of Local 1181 who are covered by the pact exhaust the money allocated in any of those years, it would be the union's responsibility to deal with the excess, either by reducing benefits or increasing member co-pays.

Hinted At Possibility

Mr. Battaglia only hinted at that provision of the deal in speaking at the membership meeting, saying, "As of this day, there will be no raise in your deductibles."

The agreement also gives members the option of withdrawing from the health plan and receiving a payment equaling 4 percent of their salaries, provided they have another form of health insurance. Those who give up their coverage can re-enroll annually in October, or sooner if they lose their alternative coverage.

Management also gained the right to cease making health contributions on behalf of any bus driver during the period in which their driver's license is suspended or when bus personnel are suspended for 30 days or more by the Department of Education for matters including leaving children unattended on a bus.

Costly Raise Delays

The other provision of the deal that reduces management's costs is a six-month delay in the implementation of each raise. While the pact is retroactive to July 1 and runs through July 1, 2009, the raises will be paid at the beginning of each calendar year, starting with the 3-percent hike on Jan. 1, 2007.

As a result, while pay rates will increase on an equal basis with what bus drivers employed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are receiving, so that the maximum salary for school bus drivers will go from $50,908 to $56,442 by Jan. 1, 2009, senior drivers will lose $2,766 in cash over the length of the contract because of the delayed raise dates.

A small group of dissidents known as Members for Change attempted to address the meeting to express displeasure with the lack of details about the contract provided prior to the vote. Although the deal was reached July 5, it was not until the ratification meeting that Mr. Battaglia offered specifics about what it contained.

Prevents Debate

But after promising that they would be given an opportunity to speak following a motion on whether the terms should be put to a vote, the Local 1181 president quickly called for a vote on the deal, and it was approved without any discussion from the floor.

One of the dissidents, Simon Jean-Baptiste, expressed suspicions about the deal's terms even before it was learned that limits had been placed on management's health insurance contributions. "I want to see the contract in writing," he said.

"They tell you we don't give back," said another dissident, Raymond LaRoche. "What about [the raises being effective] six months later?"

Under the deal, management will increase pension contributions by $4 weekly per member in each of the first two years and $3 in the final year. Employee contributions to their pensions will go up by $2, $2 and $1.50 per week over the three years of the pact.

'Gives Decent Pensions'

"This will allow you to get a decent pension when you retire," said Mr. Battaglia, who in recent months has had to defend his stewardship of the pension fund against charges by the dissidents that it is missing money and benefits are not as great as they should be.

He told members at the meeting that the Local 1181 executive board would decide in March how much to increase pension allowances, adding, "You will get a decent raise, well overdue."

Employees will now be able to earn pension credit toward their retirement allowance for up to 40 years, compared to the old maximum of 35.

Systemwide picks of job assignments, which previously were made on an annual basis, will now be made in June, August and November, increasing the ability of employees to obtain more-desirable routes or work locations.

Extra Hike for 'Carriers'

Bus escorts who accompany children between their front doors and the buses received an additional increase of 50 cents per hour under the contract, and the safety bonus for drivers with clean records was increased from $75 to $100.

The ratification meeting was attended by Joseph Welch, a vice president of the International ATU who was deputized to monitor the local's affairs earlier this month because of the legal troubles of its leadership, including Mr. Battaglia.

The Local 1181 president and his two top officers, Secretary-Treasurer Julius "Spike" Bernstein and Recording Secretary Ann Chiarovano, are scheduled to go on trial in September on Federal racketeering charges. The three of them are accused of conspiring with Genovese crime family boss Matty "The Horse" Ianniello and his lieutenants to allow the local and its benefit funds to be controlled by organized crime.

Shakedown Charge

Mr. Bernstein a month ago was forced to take a leave of absence from his position as a condition of his bail after a second indictment accused him of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs from a bus company owner for agreeing not to unionize the owner's employees.

Although the dissidents have called for a takeover of Local 1181 by the International ATU since the initial indictments were handed up last July, International President Warren George's only response so far was to send Mr. Welch, a vice president from Syracuse, to oversee Local 1181's affairs after Mr. Bernstein took his leave of absence.

Mr. Welch did not return a call about Mr. Battaglia's failure to inform rank-and-file members about the limit on management health contributions under the pact before they voted on the deal.

Calls to Local 1181 spokesman Steve Mangione were also not returned.