durham school bus service

[things in the know]

Durham bus Company took over Jones bus services a few years ago. Since the buy out they have been slowly destroying everything Jones spent over 10 years building.
This year they started by informing the drivers there would be no raises, for some drivers this is the Third year without a pay raise . Plus they took away the Monthly Safety and Attendance Bonus ($50 ) This was given to the drivers who did not miss any days of work or have any accidents for the month. Then they dropped there 2 hour guaranty for each route the driver worked. It Used to be a driver would go to work expecting at least Two hours of pay. Most routes are around 1 hour 30 min, plus 20 min to pre trip and post trip a bus. But some routes are shorter by 10 - 20 min. Plus if Students are missing that day you will end at an earlier time. So the 2 hour Guaranty just became straight hours. Drivers are now expected to come to work and only be paid 1 - 2 hours per shift. Under 3 - 4 hours a day. Durham does not want any driver to be more than Part-time, so they make sure hours are well below 30 hours a week. This way the driver has no standing with the company. All the office personal were excluded from the Pay freeze they will be getting raises and bonuses .
Most have second jobs, but Durham makes it hard, they call you when you are off shift to tell you they need to see you ASAP , If you are at your other job and tell them you can’t see them till you return to the yard for your afternoon shift they write you up, make you feel like your job is on the line. Most times they want to see you for something as simple as picking up a route sheet, this could have been picked up when the driver returned for his afternoon shift.. Plus they to not pay you for returning to pick these items up.
So your drive time there and back and wait time to get someone to talk to you could be around 40 min
Without pay. This could happen several times a week, not just 1 or 2 times a month.
Durham is also instructing drivers to be less involved with the children and parents. This is especially bothersome to a special education drivers, who feel they need to know about the child in a wheelchair or
On a breathing machine, one who does not like sitting with other Children, behavior problems and best way to handle them.
Drivers are told to now hand a card to a parent and have them call the 1- 800 number and hope to talk to someone human .
Any problems on the bus are to be handled by calling a call center and either returning the child to school or have the police meet the bus.
Drivers feel like robots now. We don’t want to not smile and become friendly with parents, student, and teachers.
Durham is going thru drivers very quickly, this is not good, this means you have way too many newly trained drivers on the road instead of trained drivers who have worked for Jones/ Durham for 6 to 12 years. These drivers have moved to other companies. Accidents and mistakes are on the rise, something that should not happen when Children are involved. There is a saying “you get what you pay for”

[things in the know]

Durham’s ad on there website claims they are the one company that is economy safe, so why are they telling workers they have been hit with big losses ?
It might have something to do with all the man power hours it took to install the million dollars worth of computers they installed on all the buses in Lake county last year. The one that never worked and are now using more money and Man power to be removed from the busses.
This must be the reason there are not enough busses and why the busses we do have are old and always breaking down,. When Jones was owner there were always new busses every year.
So next time you want to be mad at the bus driver please remember we are just doing as our programmer has instructed us, we want to be human again and not robots who can be replaced with models who don’t
Have any training ….

[Dean Phinney]

things in the know wrote:

Durham’s ad on there website claims they are the one company that is economy safe, so why are they telling workers they have been hit with big losses ?
It might have something to do with all the man power hours it took to install the million dollars worth of computers they installed on all the buses in Lake county last year. The one that never worked and are now using more money and Man power to be removed from the busses.
This must be the reason there are not enough busses and why the busses we do have are old and always breaking down,. When Jones was owner there were always new busses every year.
So next time you want to be mad at the bus driver please remember we are just doing as our programmer has instructed us, we want to be human again and not robots who can be replaced with models who don’t
Have any training ….

You have to understand that Durham is a Multi-national corporation that's prime driving force is profit. They really don't care about you as long as they can fill the driver's seat with the cheapest labor as possible. When they are telling you how much they care and respect you remember one thing "If their lips are moving they are probably telling you a lie".

This is the reason First Student workers turned to the Teamsters for help and now this is the same reason Durham workers all around the country are wanting to form their own union with help from the Teamsters. Without a voice in your wages, your seniority, your benefits,the safety of the children, your working conditions and the RESPECT you deserve your just a slave or as you put it a robot for them to control.

There have been several yards now that have decided to stand together and make positive changes in their yards by forming a union. It hasn't been easy because contrary to NEX corporate policy they kick and scream when the workers decide to organize. They don't want to give up total control but that's not their choice - it's yours. If people want change they have to make the change or at least start it themselves. If you would like more information go to www.driveupstandards.org and talk to other bus workers who have decided to change their future. If you would like to talk about changing your yard there is a link where you can post a contact request and they will forward it to me.

When We Stand Together - We Will Gain Together