School bus drivers rebuff insulting new dress code

The Transportation Department of the Tulsa, Okla., public schools made a mistake when it tried to impose a new dress code last year in violation of the dress code already written into the contract with its school bus drivers.

The new code stipulated that drivers' shirttails couldn't hang below the cuffs of their sleeves, that shirts must have collars and that drivers should copy the style of models in a preppy mail-order catalogue.

Supervisors there may have thought the drivers would sit still after being screamed at, sent home without pay and labeled "terrorists," but they were wrong. AFT 6049 Oklahoma rallied at a school board meeting in October, drawing more than 125 bus drivers and supporters wearing AFT blue and waving placards demanding the dignity they deserve.

The drivers' rally drew TV coverage, which local union members followed by circulating a "respect and dignity" petition. Drivers stuck to the dress code in their contract and the supervisors backed down, coming to an agreement with the drivers on a modified dress code that awaits ratification by union members.