Bus company cuts ties with union in Spring Grove

Employees of a Spring Grove school bus company severed ties this week with the union that has represented them for almost four years.

More than half the drivers of Teamsters Local 776 signed a petition asking that they no longer be represented by the union, according to Aaron Solem, legal counsel for drivers circulating the petition. That, he said, is an acceptable way to end the relationship with the union.

The move allows Durham School Services to withdraw recognition of the union as representatives of the drivers, said Solem, an attorney for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

But with unfair labor charges against Durham likely to come before the National Labor Relations Board, the union's frayed relationship with the company could be far from over. Labor board spokesman Gregory King said it would not be appropriate to comment.

Until recently, the union was gridlocked in negotiations with Durham, the company Spring Grove contracts for bus service. The district does not own the buses, and the drivers are Durham employees.

Having tried to reach an agreement since last July, Durham and union officials were slated to meet Monday to continue negotiations.

But the company received notice of the drivers' wishes to no longer be represented by the union on Wednesday, said Carina Noble, vice president of communications and marketing for National Express Corporation, Durham's corporate partner.

Drivers learned about the split after they returned from their runs on Thursday, said Ray Sherry, a 67-year-old Paradise Township man who has been driving a school bus for Durham in Spring Grove for two years.

The mood Friday among drivers was "smooth and upbeat," Sherry said.

A group of drivers informally called the Spring Grove Driver Objector Group has been attempting to decertify the union since it filed a petition last June with the National Labor Relations Board, he said.

Since then, the union has filed complaints to the labor board arguing Durham allegedly refuses to negotiate, bargain and furnish information, among other charges.

Despite the petition, "The union is as committed as ever to the Spring Grove drivers," said Kara Deniz, project manager in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' communications department.

Spring Grove school officials said the company withdrawing its union recognition has no bearing on the district's contract with Durham, which runs through the end of the school year.

And the company cutting ties with the union does not affect the district's consideration of potential future contracts, said George Ioannidis, district business manager.

Earlier this month, Spring Grove school board members rejected three transportation service bids — one each from Durham, Red Lion Bus Company Co. and First Student, an Ohio-based school bus company — citing the need for more time to review the proposal requests.

The bid rejection came after board members heard criticisms against Durham for using unsafe buses.

However, Durham representatives said in a statement after the meeting March 3 that all the company vehicles in Spring Grove passed every level of inspection.

Allegations made at the meeting, Noble wrote, were an attempt to cause reputational damage to the company and she said the "untruths" were "scripted for them by the union."

District officials have been satisfied with Durham's responses when issues are brought to their attention, Ioannidis said.

Communication between the district and Durham occurs on a daily basis via telephone and email, said Lori Stine, district transportation coordinator.

"It's not unusual to get a call or complaint from the public about a driver," Ioannidis said. "It is unusual to get this number in the concentrated time that we've seen at the last couple of board meetings."

Last month, Spring Grove drivers voted to authorize a strike after the union and Durham failed to reach an agreement.

But not every driver was behind the effort to strike, Sherry said.

Sherry said a petition to decertify Teamsters Local 776 filed with the labor board made union officials uncomfortable, which led to the organized protest at the March 3 school board meeting.

"In my opinion, it was purely a political move to make a point and do it publicly," Sherry said of the allegations aired by Spring Grove-area residents and former district bus drivers. "We're hearing from the company that Spring Grove was one of the safer groups in south central Pennsylvania."

A state police corporal who supervises the agency's commercial vehicle safety division said he could not say whether Durham is any better or worse than the other school bus contractors in Pennsylvania.

Every one of Pennsylvania's approximately 28,000 school buses are inspected thoroughly three times every year, according to state transportation officials. Buses either pass or fail the rigorous inspections, said state police Corporal Richard Koontz, supervisor of the agency's commercial vehicle safety division. If a bus does not pass, it is not permitted to be on the road, Koontz said.

Additionally, there are 300 state troopers who are part of the agency's Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. These officers are required to do between two and four random school bus inspections every month.

In addition to the PennDOT and state police vehicle inspections, drivers are also required to perform two pre- and post-trip inspections, before and after their runs each day. Durham's evaluation is a thorough, 65-point inspection.

If a bus does not pass a driver's inspection, a spare bus is driven that day, Koontz said.

Durham, operated by Illinois-based National Express Corporation, is a large provider of school bus services in Pennsylvania, Koontz said.

Source: TheEveningSun