First Student to implement increase despite negotiations
By KATE SCHOTT kschott@daily-chronicle.com
DeKALB – Despite ongoing contract negotiations, officials for the busing company that provides transportation for the DeKalb School District said Friday the company intends to implement their proposed wage increase for local employees starting Monday.
First Student, Inc. and local drivers – who are members of the Elgin-based Teamsters Local 330 – have been negotiating a contract for several months. On Wednesday, representatives of Local 330 informed district administrators that they may strike soon unless an agreement is reached. The district contracts with First Student for busing services, and is not involved in the negotiations.
First Student spokeswoman Maureen Richmond said late Friday afternoon that, starting Monday, the company will implement a more than 20 percent wage increase during the next four years for its DeKalb employees.
"I can't get into how that breaks down," she said when asked for additional details. "We feel this is a fair offer."
Arnold Graefen, a driver for the district and a member of the negotiating team, did not immediately return phone messages Friday evening. But Friday morning he said the union is asking for drivers to start at $12 an hour and bus monitors at $10. That would be up from $10 an hour for drivers and $8 an hour monitors make now, he said.
Those wages drivers are asking for are the same amount First Student drivers in other Illinois communities make, he said, including in Batavia, Naperville, Oswego and Villa Park. They also would like a couple of sick days a year and the guarantee of 2.5 hours of work in the morning and 2.5 in the afternoon, Graefen said, noting many employees cannot get another job because of their schedules.
"I would like them to know that all we are asking for is parity," Graefsen said when asked what message he had for the community. "It would get members off food stamps. All we want is a decent wage to live on, and not have to go to the state of Illinois so they can survive."
Richmond said the union has asked for a 47 percent increase during the next four years and that the company feels a 20 percent increase is competitive given economic conditions. She also said the industry standard is 2 hours of work each in the morning and afternoon. That is how many hours the drivers in the communities mentioned by Graefen work for, she said.
DeKalb drivers – there are 103 local drivers and monitors – voted in late February to join Teamsters Local 330. They met with First Student monthly since July but the talks have not been productive, Graefen said.
They sat down with a federal mediator on Wednesday, but Graefen said First Student walked out despite being told by the mediator that couldn't.
First Student left negotiations at 8 p.m. Wednesday because "the union had presented to us what we considered to be an unrealistic proposal," Richmond said. The company would be "happy to return" to negotiations "once the union returns with more reasonable demands."
DeKalb schools will remain in session even if the drivers strike, DeKalb Schools spokesman Russ Fletcher said. They will work with First Student and other bus companies to provide coverage for as many routes as possible, he said, but noted that parents should plan for alternative transportation if a strike happens.
Until a contract is agreed upon, the district is asking parents to ensure that their children are on the bus prior to leaving a child unattended at a bus stop.
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