Union Fighting "Awful" Conditions for Greenwich School Bus Drivers and Monitors

DECEMBER 17—Some of Local 100's school bus drivers and monitors in a well-heeled Connecticut town are working in abysmal conditions, with one member even needing EMS to assist when they slipped in the muddy lot provided to the members in lieu of a base. 

The Greenwich, Connecticut school board contracted to work with Dattco, but has yet to provide anything beyond a field as a home base for the drivers and monitors. That has left 120 members literally out in the cold. It's also dark in the unlit field when members when they show up for their morning shifts.

School Bus and MTA Bus/Private Lines Vice President Danny D'Amato was on CBS2 news last night to tell the public that our members are now working out of a muddy parking lot without proper facilities or a break room. 

"They're in porta-potties. There's not even a place for them to rest when they come back from their run. And these are people that pick up the most precious cargo in the world—our children. And they're being treated like garbage," he said.

Executive Board Member Mary Pryce, who is the local Section Chair, told CBS that "there's a lot of mud, a lot of dirt, it's just awful." 

The segment also noted that the buses sometimes get stuck in of the mud, resulting in late pickups of children.

Greenwich is a famously wealthy town northeast of New York City which has attracted financiers, CEOs, and celebrities for years due to its low taxes, beautiful estates, and proximity to Manhattan.

D'Amato said today that MTA Bus/PBL/School Bus Department leadership has been at the Dattco lot all week, and that our safety team was also deployed to protect drivers and monitors.

"We're there to safeguard our members in these muddy and snowy conditions," said the VP.

Wide-ranging efforts are ongoing to resolve the situation, D'Amato said, telling CBS2 that "we can't have this anymore."

The Tony Aiello report also quoted Local 100 as saying that "everything's on the table, including job actions."