Bus drivers deserve attention

1

To the Editor:

Referee, babysitter, police officer, hall monitor, mediator, EMT … as a daily commuter on the VTA, I have witnessed the bus drivers act in the capacity of each of the professions mentioned. These people are dedicated, competent, responsible public servants.

We entrust these men and women with the safety of our children. We count on them to get us safely to and from work. They are our neighbors. These intrepid workers drive narrow, winding routes all over our Island. At times they drive in sweltering heat. At other times, the buses they operate in subfreezing conditions have no heat. Eight hours sitting in a freezing bus.

They navigate our roads with 60 people on board in the summer. Quite a responsibility. And all the while they remain courteous, friendly, helpful, and most of all, professional.

Why is it, then, that these people are unable to sit and negotiate in good faith with the administrators at Transit Connection, Inc., the VTA’s subcontractor? It’s not that they haven’t been trying. Stonewalling and delay tactics have been employed to thwart these drivers for too many years. I will yield to a few sentences that I was able to glean from a letter written by Congressman William R. Keating’s office and addressed to the administrator at the VTA. The letter is dated Nov. 16, 2018.

“As you know, the drivers at VTA organized under the auspices of Amalgamated Transit Union (UTA) Local 1548 more than a decade ago. However, Transit Connection, Inc. (TCI), of Orlando, Fla., delayed collective bargaining for more than a year, and successfully moved to decertify the union.” Mr. Keating continued, “In 2014, VTA drivers once again began the process of reorganizing. Yet TCI again refused to bargain — even after being ordered to do so by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).”

Another sentence from Rep. Keating’s letter states, “Frankly, the stalling tactics used by the VTA’s out-of-state subcontractor are antithetical to the values of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, where unions are recognized and transit workers are treated with respect.”

Hopefully, after their holiday parties have wrapped up and their Christmas bonuses are safely deposited, the folks at Transit Connection, Inc., will have a minute to devote to this pressing problem.

 

Jack Ryan

Oak Bluffs

1 COMMENT

  1. You are mixing up “good faith” with “giving the drivers what they want.” That isn’t the same thing at all, much as the union claims otherwise.

    The drivers are claiming a right to even-higher pay and even-greater benefits. But this isn’t something where society needs to have the experience of 40 years. Bus drivers are already paid relatively well–a high hourly rate and decent benefits–for a job which requires minimal training and absolutely no higher education. They make more than bank tellers, or daycare assistants, or S&S clerks, or secretaries, or a host of other positions. If they don’t want to work as a bus driver at the rate being paid by VTA, they should leave: this is certainly the type of job where we would all expect a more temporary tenure.

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