MARLBOROUGH – Outside of the Early Childhood Center before the April 11 School Committee meeting, bus drivers waved and cheered as passing cars honked in support.
The drivers are members of Teamsters Union Local 170, and they held signs in regards to their stalled contract negotiations with their employer, NRT.
According to union representative Jim Marks, the Teamsters Union Local 170 has been negotiating with NRT for “a while” in a couple of school districts, including Marlborough.
“We’ve been trying to get a contract with them; we’ve been trying to get them to talk about wages and certain things – just try to get serious about negotiations,” Marks said. “We’re having a hard time doing that.”
According to Marks, the union was negotiating for a contract with better wages, benefits and 401K along with holidays.
According to Marks, the Marlborough School Committee helped the drivers’ wages increase to $34 an hour, but NRT has taken away time from the drivers.
“The $34 that the school district gave them, really they’re not giving them because when you take away 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon, that’s 20 minutes,” Marks said.
With that occurring five days a week, the money that Marks said the drivers were supposed to get, the drivers ended up losing out on.
One of the drivers participating in the picket was Carol Willoughby, who began driving with NRT in 2015. She started as a van driver before becoming a mini-bus driver for special education students in Marlborough.
When asked what she was doing at the picket, Willoughby said, “I’m supporting the bus drivers.”
“The big bus drivers, they got their raise, we didn’t get anything,” said Willoughby. “We’re still bus drivers, but we’re mini-bus drivers, and still got nothing. I think we’re just as important.”
As people drove past the picket, Willoughby said she hoped people took away the importance of bus drivers.
“They transport some of the most precious cargo that people have – their children,” said Marks.
The drivers contend with everyday headaches like people not paying attention or on their cellphones while also making sure the students stay in their seats and get to the schools safely, Marks said.
The drivers contend with everyday headaches like people not paying attention or on their cellphones while also making sure the students stay in their seats and get to the schools safely, Marks said.
“The job that these guys do they don’t get enough credit for,” Marks said.
In a statement Mayor Arthur Vigeant said, “The union needs to take their issues up with their employer, NRT, not us, NRT’s customer.”
“The beginning of the year we gave the bus drivers a double digit % increase,” Vigeant said. “We also will be issuing a 1% stipend to all city employees recognizing that in reaction to Washington DC issues inflation continues to be high. This was not in their contract but I believed it was the right thing to do.”
The Community Advocate has reached out to NRT for comment.
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