School Bus Drivers: Layoffs Leave Kids Late for Class; Dissidents Beef to DOE
By ARI PAUL
Nearly 1,000 rank-and-file Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 members Sept. 10 protested layoffs among Department of Education bus drivers, which they said left students, many of whom have disabilities and special needs, without adequate transport to school.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang LEFT AT THE CURB, LEFT IN THE DARK: Laid-off school bus drivers said they got no warning from either the Department of Education or Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 that 1,300 jobs would be cut. Local 1181 members said that DOE's decision to combine routes resulted in children coming late to school.

'Union Doesn't Support Us'

Local 1181 Members for Change — a dissident group within the scandal-tarnished union — held the rally outside of the DOE's transport office in Long Island City. The department cut 640 routes at the end of August and laid off 1,300 bus drivers, escorts and matrons in several contracted companies including Caravan Transit, Hoyt and Rainbow.

"When we went to the pick, that's when we was laid off," said Rainbow bus driver Lawanda Smith, who lost her job of six years. "The union didn't notify no one. It really bothers me because first of all we have a union that don't support us."

Union members said that many children are waiting longer for buses and often coming to school late and missing their first class as a result of the DOE combining bus routes.

"Now, they give you the same time to pick up and same time to drop off but you have more responsibility," said member Raymond LaRoche, who added that his runs are lengthier since the layoffs. "You have to remember, some kids they have mental and physical problems — for example, an autistic kid — they need supervision."

He continued, "Who gets the blame at the end? Bus drivers and matrons."

DOE: Haven't Seen Problem

The DOE said in a statement, "We are providing bus service to eligible students and meeting the transportation requirements of every student with disabilities. Though we are busing a slightly larger number of students, we are receiving many fewer questions and complaints than in the past — 52,000 calls to our hotline in the first eight days this year compared to 72,000 in the first eight days of last year."

It continued, "The calls to 311 also went down to 681 during the first week of school this year from 1,282 during the first week of school last year. We have opened more special ed classes closer to where students live and routed more efficiently, eliminating between 100-200 routes without loss of service to students. Bus drivers who lost their routes understandably want them back, but we don't add buses that no one needs at taxpayer expense."

Members for Change is a dissident caucus within Local 1181, advised by Eddie Kay, a former official at Service Employees International Union Local 1199, and Transport Workers Union Local 100. Last December, the group complained that the union's leadership made no efforts to prepare members for a paratransit strike after members rejected contract terms with several companies.

Question Trustee's Inaction

"Tommy Mullins is nowhere to be found," Mr. LaRoche said of the union's governing trustee.

Mr. Mullins could not be reached for comment.

One driver noted that her new route, which took her from Far Rockaway in Queens to a school in The Bronx, had her delivering children at 10:30 in the morning, nearly two hours late. Driver Gloria Flaherty told reporters during the rally that when one 8-year-old could not find an adequate bus route, the DOE sent her a MetroCard.

Michelle Muller, a parent with an autistic 9-year-old boy, said that she struggles every year for a timely bus route for her child, and that while she was able to find one this year, many parents would be adversely affected by the layoffs.

"They come up with the same crap every year," said Local 1181 member Simon Jean-Baptiste. "They cut runs and left children in the street waiting for buses. Parents cannot go to work."