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Instead of a thanksgiving bonus or a turkey from the company (we never receive these items anyway), the drivers received a nice note attached to their paychecks. On its face the letter looks 'somewhat' reasonable. However, if you are familiar with the issues you will realize that the truth has been distorted in the company's favor. Items marked in parenthesis refer to notes at the bottom of the page indicating another side of the story.
Laidlaw Educational Services
November 24, 1999
Subject: San Francisco Negotiations, Company's Last Offer, Work Stoppage
It appears that from the news media, despite the Company's best efforts to present a fair and equitable offer for a new labor agreement, the Union is determined to have a work stoppage. This is extremely unfortunate because the party that is hurt the worst is not even at the bargaining table - the children who ride our buses.
As you know we have been negotiating this labor agreement since the middle of this past summer. The Company explained at the outset that due to the uncertainties of the future of student transportation in San Francisco related to the desegregation program, these negotiations were going to be unlike those held in the past. The School District and the Company had previously met and discussed the District's concerns about the federal funding that they receive as a result of the desegregation program, and the real possibility that these funds might not be available in the future. Consequently, rather than placing the contract out to bid, the parties decided on a two year extension of the existing revenue contract, with the Company receiving no increase in rates for the same two year period. (in years passed, the Company received at least a COLA increase each year from SFUSD, and in turn increased the wages of the drivers, staff, and yard personnel). (1)
When the Company first came to the bargaining table and made an offer to increase the driver wages by two percent (2%), we felt that, given our frozen rates at SFUSD, the offer was fair and sound. The Company had further proposed, that during years 3 through 5 of the labor agreement, we would pass on to the employees the same percentage increase that we received from SFUSD (if the Company received a 2% increase, so would the employees, and if the Company received a 6% increase, the employees would receive the same 6%). In spite of the fact that the Company's increases from SFUSD in the future were uncertain, the Union insisted on a COLA type increase for the employees, which would not be tied to the SFUSD increases. (2)
During the ensuing months of negotiations, we listened intently to the Union's expressed concerns over a weekly guarantee for part-time drivers. The Union assured us that the senior drivers would be willing to forgo their rights to bid on extra work in order to allow the drivers with less than thirty-five hours to have this same work. The Union assured us that the drivers did not expect to get something for nothing and that they wanted to work more and earn more. In our meeting on November 11th the Company submitted a detailed counter proposal to the Union's request that would have provided the thirty-five hour weekly guarantee, and which, we believed, was a workable solution to this issue. That proposal was rejected out of hand. (3)
On the evening of Friday November 19th', at the offices of the federal mediator, we presented you with the Company's best, last, and final offer. In that proposal the Company withdrew the rejected thirty-five hour offer. We backed away from our position of passing along the same increase that we receive from SFUSD, and instead allowed for the COLA increases that the Union requested. (4)
We have also granted very generous first-year wage increases to our dedicated office staff. As an example, the Transportation Managers will receive a 15.5% increase in salary, the Sr. Accounting Clerk will receive a 17.9% increase in salary, the Accounting Clerk will receive a 26.8% increase, and the Dispatchers will receive a 31.9% increase. In the Yard agreement, we granted the same COLA wage adjustments for each year of the labor contract. (5)
In spite of the fact that the Company has seen an increase in excess of $362,000 in health care cost over the last five years, this last offer requires the employees to pay, beginning the second year of the contract, only $30.00 or $35-00 per month for complete medical, dental, and vision. The Company's cost of these plans will be $578 and $669 per month respectively. Under this proposal, the employees are shielded from any future rate hikes for the life of the agreement. (6)
Frankly, we are stunned that this offer is not acceptable. We believe that the wages and benefits combined that we pay in this location are the highest for any other school bus driver in the nation. (7) We're proud of that fact, and our employees should be proud as well. However, at some point the Union must understand that the funds of the School District and the funds of the Company are not limitless. (8)
The Union also must understand that Company will-not idly stand by while the welfare of the children of San Francisco is placed in jeopardy. (9) We encourage you to rethink your position to have a work stoppage. We also remind you that, as we stated in our negotiations, the offer that was submitted to you on November 19" was conditioned upon a peaceful settlement to these negotiations without any work stoppage or disruption of business. If there is any work stoppage, strike, or slowdown of any kind, then the retroactive wage increases will be forfeited and will not be paid. Furthermore, the Company also retains the right to modify the other proposals at any time. (10)
Ronn English (Dir. H. Resources)
Barbara Perry (Area General Manager)
Bob Gonzalez (S.F. District Mgr.)
Mary Liljedahl (S.F. Branch Mgr.)
1) The company should have had the courtesy to at least contact the union before making deals with the school district.
2) One 'minor' detail left out here. If the company negotiated a deal to take a major decrease so that it could outbid competitors, then the union would have to take the same decrease. Hence, they could cut deals with the school district with total disregard to the welfare of the employees.
3) The company's offer was that approximately one third of the routes would be guaranteed 35 hours a week. Furthermore, in order to receive this magnanimous offer we would have to be available evenings and weekends and forgo our seniority rights. We reminded Laidlaw about the labor movements fight for a weekend and for some free time in which one is not obligated to their employer (for family and such) - they did not seem to get it. Does this seem like a reasonable offer?
4) COLA has been in our contracts since 1976 and is a reasonable thing to expect, especially in the most expensive city in the coutry.
5) As 'generous' as these increases may be they are still below what was requested - parity with the drivers. It should be noted that these workers are paid pitiful wages for the jobs they do. Even with these ' huge' increases they will still find it very difficult to survive in this city.
6) The increase that the company plans to pass along to workers is still believed to be proportionally more than their increase (figures not in yet). They are more than doubling our contributions and their cost are not believed to have doubled in the last 5 years.
7) Laidlaw has not done its' homework if it contends that we are the highest paid school bus drivers in the country - this is simply not true. Maybe we are the highest that Laidlaw pays - which does not say much.
8) Laidlaw is crying poverty. This is a huge multi-billion dollar company that has been reaping in huge profits from school districts (and other ventures) across the county. It is also amusing how they try to pass the blame onto the greedy bus drivers taking funds from the school district by asking for more from the company. We are just asking to make enough to scrape by in this hyper-inflated region of the country.
9) Sure - Laidlaw has a long history of caring about children or of putting kids before profits - right!
10) And of course - the threat! It was nice to see that most of these letters were piled in the recycling bin. Shame on you Laidlaw for wasting good paper. Maybe next time the paper could be donated to the San Francisco schools - they sure could use it.