Charles county school bus drivers at Keller Transportation voted this year to join a national transportation workers union, and speak up as one for a living wage and decent benefits. Within weeks, and before any contract negotiations whatsoever took place, the employers notified our school bus drivers that the specific location of Keller where they worked would not be renewing their work with the schools; the school bus drivers were essentially out of a job. To add insult to injury and make their intent to bust this union absolutely clear, the employers at Keller chose to inform the school bus drivers of their decision on the day of the drivers’ annual potluck picnic. It was the day after the last day of school.
Drivers at Keller now face the possibility of having no job in the fall when school starts. If they can drive as a direct contract with the schools, they may lose the benefits of their seniority–some of the school bus drivers at Keller have been driving their routes for 30 years. Most importantly to some veteran Charles county drivers, they may not be able to drive their regular routes and see their kids. Our school bus drivers have an outsize impact on the lives of the kids who ride safely with them every day. We can’t allow the employers at Keller Transportation, who have turned millions of dollars in profit, to bust this legal union and endanger the livelihood of school bus drivers.
Southern Maryland DSA 