Amid School Bus Driver Strike Threat, Vote Scheduled In Anne Arundel County

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — A month after threats of a strike, school bus drivers should avoid a work stoppage in Anne Arundel County.

The union representing the drivers and aides announced Thursday that it reached a tentative agreement with bus contractors. If finalized, the deal would prevent a strike that would have disrupted transportation for thousands of students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO represents the drivers and aides employed by Annapolis Bus Company (ABC) and RE Wilson.

The union said the contract "calls for substantial wage and benefit enhancements and establishes a path to adequate and affordable health insurance."

"From the start, our members have been clear: they want fair compensation and real access to affordable health care," Ray Lee, special assistant to the Local 1994 president, said in a Thursday press release. "This agreement is a step forward in valuing the essential work these drivers and aides perform every day. Their unity and determination made this possible."

Drivers and aides will meet on Thursday, Sept. 25, to vote on ratification of the agreement. If ratified, the new contract will go into effect immediately.

How We Got Here

The union rejected the bus companies' best and final offer in late August. Employees voted "overwhelmingly" to authorize a strike, granting their union permission to initiate a work stoppage if necessary.

Negotiations continued, and the union never went on strike.

"These drivers and aides transport our community's children safely to and from school every day," Lee said in the release. "They deserve nothing less than fair wages, affordable benefits, and respect on the job. This tentative agreement reflects progress, and it never would have happened without the members' willingness to stand up for themselves and each other."

Lee said the union represents about 170 drivers and aides, the "vast majority" of whom are full-time. Only a handful are part-time.

Combined, the contractors operate 84 bus routes and transport approximately 7,251 students daily.

Lee said "one of the main sticking points" was "adequate and reasonable access to health care."

"What they're offering them right now is the bare minimum that's required under federal and state law," Lee told Patch in an August interview.

Lee said the bus company previously only offered health benefits to drivers through the Affordable Care Act. He didn't think that was good enough.

"It's more like a coupon," Lee told Patch at the time, pointing to some drivers with out-of-pocket expenses topping $1,000.

Lee said the bus company provides its office workers with health insurance through CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. He pushed for driver access to the same benefits.

"No deal gets done without affordable and adequate health care access to the employees," Lee told Patch.

Annapolis Bus Company and RE Wilson operate in unison under the umbrella of Student Transportation of America. This was RE Wilson's first strike vote.

The Annapolis Bus Company and RE Wilson previously declined Patch's request for comment.

Student Transportation of America released this statement to Patch in August:

"Annapolis Bus Company (ABC) and RE Wilson have partnered with the Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) for many successful years, and we recognize how critical it is to maintain operational readiness. We are in ongoing communication with AACPS, the Union and our local drivers regarding the recent contract discussions. We understand the concerns it raises for students and families, and our top priority is maintaining continuity of service.

"ABC and RE Wilson value the dedication of our drivers and the vital role they play in supporting students each day. We remain hopeful this matter will be resolved quickly so we can continue providing safe, reliable services to area students."

Patch requested fresh comments from STA and AACPS on Thursday. We will update this article if either replies.

"Our students and families are on the brink of paying a heavy price for a disagreement that is not of their or our school district’s making," AACPS Superintendent Mark Bedell said in a press release last month. "Our students simply should not and cannot be pawns in a negotiating game."

Anne Arundel County relies on several bus companies, not just this conglomerate. A strike would not have disrupted every bus route in the county.

History Of Bus Issues

Bus driver labor issues were a hot topic when students returned to schools after the pandemic shutdown.

In October 2021, Annapolis Bus Company drivers went on a wildcat strike, a work stoppage before they were represented by a union. That meant the workers went without pay during the strike. Now represented by the union, the drivers would have collected strike pay if a work stoppage had ensued.

The high-profile dispute prompted signing and retention bonuses about a month later. That stemmed the tide of the bus driver shortage, but it didn't fix it completely.

Bus issues continued into autumn 2022, with families checking a website daily to see if their students would have a bus that day.

Still facing bus delays and cancelations, AACPS required families to opt into bus service for their students starting in April 2022.

AACPS later hired van drivers to fill the gaps. School bus drivers need a commercial license, but van drivers do not. That made it easier for schools to find drivers for small shuttles that substituted some absent buses. By December 2022, AACPS had restored service to nearly 1,600 students with this strategy.

AACPS now has zero bus driver vacancies. There were 47 drivers in training as of Sept. 17. The school system still needs three more van drivers.

"The changes we have made in our Transportation Division have allowed us to start the last two school years with zero bus driver vacancies and helped to increase academic achievement across our school district," Bedell said in last month's release. "It is imperative that these two sides find common ground quickly to avoid any regression in either of those areas."

Families can sign up for bus disruption notifications at aacps.org/buses.

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