District keeps fighting despite arbitrator’s ruling
in favor of the union

The Lake County Federation of Teachers and its Woodland Council are celebrating a partial victory for bus drivers in the Illinois school district. An arbitrator ruled in January that the district had to rehire about 100 bus drivers that it had terminated before this school year as part of a plan to save money by contracting out transportation services. The district, however, is refusing to comply with the ruling, which forced the union to file an unfair labor practice and send the matter to the state labor board.

“The arbitrator’s award was a sound one,” says Arnavaz Mistry, an Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) field representative who works with the local. “We’re happy with the decision” but obviously disappointed with the district’s response. The arbitrator upheld the union’s argument that the district violated the union contract when it hired Jones Bus Service last spring to handle transportation. The ruling also requires the district to restore seniority rights and all lost pay and benefits.

The district claimed the contract would save about $4 million over three years. But Mistry points out that by failing to accept the arbitration, the district could ultimately end up paying much more because it has to keep paying the private company and the former employees’ back wages if it loses the case at the labor board.

When the private company took over, some of the former district drivers were hired, with considerably lower pay and benefits, while others found jobs elsewhere. The union plans to keep fighting until all of the drivers have their district jobs back.

“This is not about winning, this is about what is right,” says Pat Termini, president of the Woodland Council. “I believe the IFT will see that justice is served.”