After a yr of negotiations, Boston Public Schools and the college bus drivers’ union have reached an settlement on a brand new contract that may give them a 9.1% pay increase over three years.
The proposed contract bus drivers ratified Tuesday evening contains pay will increase of 5.2% the primary yr and a pair of% enhance every of the final two years.
“This agreement is a victory for our students and families,” Superintendent Brenda Cassellius stated in a press release. “This contract achieves several operational changes we need to increase our on-time bus performance and driver attendance.”
Boston Public Schools and the town, working in partnership with Transdev, the district’s faculty transportation contractor and negotiator, have spent the final yr negotiating a brand new collective bargaining settlement with the college bus driver’s Union, USW Local 8751.
“Families around the city depend on school buses to deliver our most precious cargo on a daily basis,” stated Mayor Michelle Wu. “This contract will ensure that our city’s students get to school more reliably, and I’m grateful for the partnership of this union and its members.”
Reforms contained within the contact place Transdev to proceed to supply aggressive pay and advantages for drivers and to recruit new drivers.
The settlement prohibits “no call, no show” absences. Before this reform, drivers may fail or refuse to come back to work with no discover to the employer, however then retroactively relabel such absences as “sick days” as much as 3 times.
The new settlement penalizes drivers who’re late to work by reassigning their routes to stand-by drivers and extinguishing the power to problem any reassignment.
The new settlement additionally limits the preliminary size of “emergency leave,” which has been an extended, ill-defined type of depart that might permit drivers absences of limitless period with little to no reporting to the employer. By forcing the preliminary size of “emergency leave” to be minimize off at 15 days, this reform forces drivers to replace the employer as to the place they’re and what they’re doing, however extra importantly offers the employer a choke level to channel drivers into another, extra restricted type of depart, similar to FMLA.
The new settlement additionally cuts off seniority to drivers on sickness or incapacity depart after one yr.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”