When negotiating, play by the rules. Hunker-down for the long haul, be patient, kind, courteous, smile a lot (even if there is nothing to smile about), psyche out your opponent, determine if they are battle-tested and worthy, are they formidable? Will they blink in a stare-down with you, do they flinch. Are they ever nervous or do they show nerves of steel?
Can you compromise and find common ground or are some things not worth giving up? How far will we take this before we break and cave-in, or do we go onthe offensive with an offensive strategy without playing dirty?
Who are our allies, who believes in bus drivers anymore? Are we really a dime a dozen? Does the community support us? Will we ever get our step raises? Are they not playing fair in the sandbox with us?
All kinds of questions that our DUTU membership and leaders are dealing with these days while we continue to “mediate” a contract with the school district. This is a tough, time-consuming strenuous process that we are in. If the economy was better and the needed dollars to keep the school districts of Illinois running were flowing in instead of trickling, we would have more to work with, but we don’t. Being prudent and frugal is a mandate to all concerned, just as common sense needs to prevail and we can not legislate common sense, although it is so often needed.
So just where do we go from here? Mediate in good faith and “hope” we get a fair shake out of it would be one answer and lick our wounds for the next 4-5 years. I say we hold the line and give up the things we can live without or amend items that we can make concessions on. BUT certain things may not be surrendered that wouldtake work away or conceded important benefits when we took the job with U-46. Bait and switch? We hope not..
If we subsribe to unionism and the collective bargaining process, then we are committed to see this contract through to the end. It may come with prolonged suffering for those of us waiting for our first step-raise, as told to us when we started our jobs as drivers and assistants.
For some reason, when management hired us and told us that joining the union is mandatory and its the thing you do to get the job, it all seemed o.k. at the time, But it’s not.
You are a member in a process called contract negotiating that comes around every couple of years, like it or not, but its the best process we have. it allows us to check our own strength and take attendance of our association. We learn who is loyal and willing to ride it out in order to get the best contract (and its not about money and raises), and we learn who the “boo-birdss” are too that throw a lot of criticism at those volunteering their personal time to serve as DUTU leaders and members of the bargaining team.
Unite! DUTU, be strong and courageous, show your pride in your job as well as the association that serves you, be patient a little hwile longer.
I am a recent hire with U46. I came from one of the “contractors” you spoke of, First Student. First Student, at least at the terminal I worked for and at the time I worked there (5 years), could not have cared less for their customers. I was asked many times to do absolutely unsafe things, which I got in trouble for not doing. I even complained to the regional director of the Illinois Department of Transportation who sent a team out to inspect a problem and stopped First Student from one of their unsafe practices. By the way, I got in trouble for turning them in even though I had repeatedly spoken to management about the problem with no effort on their part to fix this violation prior to going to the DOT (non-working speedometers on many buses).
Like you, I understand costs and the effort to be as cost effective as we can. But I also understand that employers don’t always understand what they are asking for. But rather than listen to employees points of view, CUT, CUT, CUT is there only response.
My point is that I believe that sub-contracting may seem like a cost efficent way to do out of district runs, but they need to look at the whole picture, and investigate some of the problems these companies have with DOT, the Labor Board, and other regulatory agencies. As well as the excuse that if they can save money in out of district runs, maybe in the future they can save more money by eliminating in house Transportation.
Hello Gary & Tim,
I forwarded some very interesting information to the Association Representatives about the high cost of ‘Outsourcing’, particularly school district transportation departments. This was regarding the results of a study made by the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg Pa. ( I will paste the link so that you may read it). It states that though private companies may take over district run transportation departments by low bidding for the work They found that after districts have given over control to these companies, these companies regularly demand more for their operating costs which ends up costing the tax payers more, and not less. After all, they are ‘for profit’ operations.
There is a lot more to this study as you will be able to see.
I contacted this group and asked for permission to share their results. They not only gave me permission, they have offered to reach out to;
Our members
Our superintendent and possibly to the community.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
When negotiating, play by the rules. Hunker-down for the long haul, be patient, kind, courteous, smile a lot (even if there is nothing to smile about), psyche out your opponent, determine if they are battle-tested and worthy, are they formidable? Will they blink in a stare-down with you, do they flinch. Are they ever nervous or do they show nerves of steel?
Can you compromise and find common ground or are some things not worth giving up? How far will we take this before we break and cave-in, or do we go onthe offensive with an offensive strategy without playing dirty?
Who are our allies, who believes in bus drivers anymore? Are we really a dime a dozen? Does the community support us? Will we ever get our step raises? Are they not playing fair in the sandbox with us?
All kinds of questions that our DUTU membership and leaders are dealing with these days while we continue to “mediate” a contract with the school district. This is a tough, time-consuming strenuous process that we are in. If the economy was better and the needed dollars to keep the school districts of Illinois running were flowing in instead of trickling, we would have more to work with, but we don’t. Being prudent and frugal is a mandate to all concerned, just as common sense needs to prevail and we can not legislate common sense, although it is so often needed.
So just where do we go from here? Mediate in good faith and “hope” we get a fair shake out of it would be one answer and lick our wounds for the next 4-5 years. I say we hold the line and give up the things we can live without or amend items that we can make concessions on. BUT certain things may not be surrendered that wouldtake work away or conceded important benefits when we took the job with U-46. Bait and switch? We hope not..
If we subsribe to unionism and the collective bargaining process, then we are committed to see this contract through to the end. It may come with prolonged suffering for those of us waiting for our first step-raise, as told to us when we started our jobs as drivers and assistants.
For some reason, when management hired us and told us that joining the union is mandatory and its the thing you do to get the job, it all seemed o.k. at the time, But it’s not.
You are a member in a process called contract negotiating that comes around every couple of years, like it or not, but its the best process we have. it allows us to check our own strength and take attendance of our association. We learn who is loyal and willing to ride it out in order to get the best contract (and its not about money and raises), and we learn who the “boo-birdss” are too that throw a lot of criticism at those volunteering their personal time to serve as DUTU leaders and members of the bargaining team.
Unite! DUTU, be strong and courageous, show your pride in your job as well as the association that serves you, be patient a little hwile longer.
Gary
I am a recent hire with U46. I came from one of the “contractors” you spoke of, First Student. First Student, at least at the terminal I worked for and at the time I worked there (5 years), could not have cared less for their customers. I was asked many times to do absolutely unsafe things, which I got in trouble for not doing. I even complained to the regional director of the Illinois Department of Transportation who sent a team out to inspect a problem and stopped First Student from one of their unsafe practices. By the way, I got in trouble for turning them in even though I had repeatedly spoken to management about the problem with no effort on their part to fix this violation prior to going to the DOT (non-working speedometers on many buses).
Like you, I understand costs and the effort to be as cost effective as we can. But I also understand that employers don’t always understand what they are asking for. But rather than listen to employees points of view, CUT, CUT, CUT is there only response.
My point is that I believe that sub-contracting may seem like a cost efficent way to do out of district runs, but they need to look at the whole picture, and investigate some of the problems these companies have with DOT, the Labor Board, and other regulatory agencies. As well as the excuse that if they can save money in out of district runs, maybe in the future they can save more money by eliminating in house Transportation.
Hello Gary & Tim,
I forwarded some very interesting information to the Association Representatives about the high cost of ‘Outsourcing’, particularly school district transportation departments. This was regarding the results of a study made by the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg Pa. ( I will paste the link so that you may read it). It states that though private companies may take over district run transportation departments by low bidding for the work They found that after districts have given over control to these companies, these companies regularly demand more for their operating costs which ends up costing the tax payers more, and not less. After all, they are ‘for profit’ operations.
There is a lot more to this study as you will be able to see.
I contacted this group and asked for permission to share their results. They not only gave me permission, they have offered to reach out to;
Our members
Our superintendent and possibly to the community.
http://keystoneresearch.org/publications/research/school-bus-transport
I still work for that company that you worked for and hope and pray that the powers that be listen to you!!!!
thanks Norma Jean for your thoughts, we appreciate them and your personal experiences.