Wednesday, February 16, 2000
School bus drivers defy union
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
LEBANON — The school bus driver situation in Lebanon is getting more complicated. Most of the drivers have formed their own association in an effort to remain employees of Laidlaw Transit.
Their action came after an announcement last month that the Lebanon Board of Education had reached an agreement with the drivers' former union — the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) — to make drivers board of education employees effective with the 2000-01 school year.
But the board Monday tabled a decision on the agreement to give attorneys for the board, bus drivers, OAPSE Local 511 and Laidlaw time to reach an agreement, board President Norm Dreyer said.
“If you would have told me a year ago that bus drivers would want to stay with Laidlaw, I never would have believed you,” Mr. Dreyer said. “I would hope this would not cause division among our classified staff. I would hate to see cafeteria workers angry with bus drivers or custodians angry with bus drivers because some want them to remain in the union and others don't.”
In March, the union filed charges of unfair labor practices against the board after a controversial vote to give Laidlaw a five-year contract to run its transportation department. At the time, OAPSE represented bus drivers along with cooks, janitors, maintenance workers, secretaries and aides. Bus drivers are now employees of Laidlaw.
“This is very controversial. We want to make sure we have all the facts,” board member Paul Brewer said. “We need more time to study our options and the legal issues. I don't think we need to rush a decision.”
Drivers want to remain Laidlaw employees and are unhappy their former union reached a tentative agreement with the board without their consent, attorney Christian Jenkins said. He was hired last week to represent the newly created Lebanon School Bus Drivers Association. Mr. Jenkins said 52 of the 57 bus drivers have joined.
“It's a remarkably unusual situation where a union strikes a deal their members don't want,” he said. “The law doesn't provide a clear answer.”
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