NEWS

Agreement ends threat school buses won’t roll

By ALEX MALM
Posted 11/4/21

For weeks parents and school officials fretted over whether buses would run as scheduled or if there would be some type of work stoppage. 

With a possible strike looming as early as Monday …

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NEWS

Agreement ends threat school buses won’t roll

Posted

For weeks parents and school officials fretted over whether buses would run as scheduled or if there would be some type of work stoppage. 

With a possible strike looming as early as Monday First Student, the company contracted by the Warwick School Department to bus 6,300 students each day and Local 618 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, struck a tentative agreement last Thursday night. 

On Friday the union membership voted in favor of a new contract.

"First Student is pleased that ATU Local 618 has voted to ratify a contract that includes generous pay raises over the 3-year contract, increased 401(k) contributions, and other benefit improvements for our valued, hardworking Warwick school bus drivers,” Frank McMahon, a spokesperson for First Student wrote in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Warwick Public Schools to provide safe, reliable student bus transportation.”

A major issue for the drivers was a guarantee for days paid. 

Andrew Arsenault, a member of the executive board and negotiation committee for the union, told the Beacon last week drivers wanted more hours in a new contract. 

He explained that before the pandemic school districts went to school for about 180 days a year in person. If a school day was canceled due to inclement weather or another reason it would almost always be made up. 

But now with distance learning, there is uncertainty from year to year as how many days they will be paid and if they may lose days when the School District opts to go with distance learning for a myriad of reasons. He noted that in Warwick they only have 170 days physically  in school this year because of distance learning days. 

“These are things that never came up before,” Arsenault said. 

In June the General Assembly passed legislation which states “no school committee shall negotiate, extend, or renew any school transportation service contract unless the contract provides for payments to school bus drivers, attendants, monitors and aids for one hundred and eighty (180) days or the length of the contracted-for school year, whichever is longer.”

The Warwick School Department signed a three-year extension with First Student before the law was passed which goes until June 30 2024

As part of the contract, it states “Any CDL or non-CDL drivers regularly assigned to Warwick Public Schools or Jamestown Public Schools will be compensated for their scheduled hours for regularly scheduled distance learning days provided that the driver works all his/her scheduled shifts the day before and the day after the regularly scheduled distance learning day.”

As part of the contract, drivers will see an increase starting as of July 1, 2022 for the minimum amount of hours for their morning afternoon shifts. Currently they are guaranteed two hours per shift and as of July 1 they will receive a minimum of 2.25 hours. It means that if a driver does both their morning and afternoon routes for the day they will get paid for at least four and half hours rather than the four hours. As of April 1, 2024 they will get at least 2.5 hours per shift. 

Drivers will also see an hourly pay increase each year.

Step 1 drivers will get a $.85 pay bump retroactive as of July 1 bringing them to $20 an hour while drivers with 10 years or more will get a $1 an hour to $24.70 an hour. Step 2 drivers also will get a bump of $1 an hour in meaning they will get $23.85 an hour. 

They will get raises each year topping off as of April 1 2024 when Step 1 drivers will receive $23 an hour, Step 2 will get $26 an hour and top step drivers will get $27.70 an hour. 

Superintendent Lynn Dambruch was happy to hear the news about a new contract being reached. 

“I am pleased and relieved that First Student and the bus drivers union ATU 618 have reached an agreement on a new contract,” Dambruch said. “The Warwick School Department looks forward to continuing our partnership in safely transporting our students to and from school.”

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