A Letter To Speaker Quinn

[Ernie]

Robin Benedetto


Dear Speaker Quinn,
Thanks very much for responding so quickly. I agree that there are no winners in a school bus strike. The middle/lower income people who drive and who monitor on these buses will never replace their lost income. It hurts not only us but the office personnel who were laid off last week. The mechanics, employers, parents and especially the children are all negatively affected.
One of the 6 year old kids that I transport, asked me what a strike was.
We love our kids. We are dedicated people. Some routes have been serviced by the same driver for 20+ years. The parents trust in us. These are our kids the moment they step on our bus until we safely drop them off.
When I was looking for a job back in 1982, I had a small child and wanted a career where I could be off when my son was off and that offered a decent salary with benefits. I was told the pluses and negatives of the job of school bus driver and decided to sacrifice lower salary for more time available to be with my child. I knew that as I accrued more seniority, I would get more benefits. I did not consider this job choice to be a filler job like a cashier or fast food worker.
I became one the the instructors at the bus company and have trained hundreds of people to drive buses. I am also a State certified DMV article 19A examiner and SBDI who must test and train the drivers and attendants on a regular basis. It is a lot of work but is rewarding.
If this Mayor has his way, this job will become something people want as temporary until they get something better. The workers become transient, not permanent. It would no longer be a dignified career choice and will attract low talent, low wage earners, a 2nd rate job. Don't you think the employers want their companies to last? Why has Amboy Bus/Atlantic Express been in business and grown for so many years. Dedicated, safe, efficient workers who feel that they are part of a family within the company. This Mayor would destroy the morale of school bus employees. We are part of the social infrastructure of NYC. We are important and deserve to feel secure and settled in our career.
We have a huge responsibility to the parents and children. It is not easy, in the city of New York, to drive through Nor'easters, blizzards, floods, hurricanes, tornados, el Nino, blackouts and sheets of ice not to mention the TRAFFIC. Me and all the dedicated workers got our kids to school and home SAFELY! These parents rely on us. We love our jobs and our kids.
This mayor does not have a clue! Save money elsewhere.
How about making some changes in the way OPT (Office of Pupil Transportation) maps out these routes? Let more kids walk. Combine some routes.
Where is the money coming from for the "free" Metro cards and travel reimbursements? Oh, I guess it's my tax money...
How about those "rubber rooms" where all that taxpayer money is wasted? How about the compulsive spenders in our government, of which he is one. Or the people that suck off the taxpayers with their never ending unemployment (for which I will have to file). Welfare & social security disability for able bodied people that are a constant drain on our economy.
We are WORKERS! We get up at 4 AM or earlier every morning in order to be on time. It is 30+ years and I am still not used to getting up and going so early.
DEDICATION, EXPERIENCE, TRAINING, COMPASSION
Remember, you get what you pay for.
Council Member Crowley marched with us last week. She said that if the Mayor wants experienced, skilled drivers, he has to be willing to pay for them. She said that the city's first priority must be keeping our school children safe and that begins and ends with experienced bus drivers and matrons. She also said that in this contract dispute, the city is more concerned with saving money than protecting our children
You ask what you can do to help. Convince the Mayor to get the school buses running while this dispute is being resolved and help him realize that a decent contract is important to all of us and that without some sort of employee protection, or some method of stabilizing seniority we become a group of disgruntled employees.
Sincerely,
Arlene Lancetta
-----Original Message-----
From: Speaker Christine C. Quinn <speakerquinn@council.nyc.ny.us>
To: arlance <arlance@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Jan 23, 2013 5:46 pm
Subject: NYC Council

Dear Ms. Lancetta,
First, I want to thank you for many years of service working as a NYC school bus driver. Thirty-one years is an incredible amount of time. Congratulations.
As for the City's school bus strike, as I've stated publicly over the past week, there are no winners in a school bus strike.
I appreciate the importance of experienced workers such as yourself. But I also recognize the legal challenges related to employment protections.
Although the City Council has no role in this matter, I have urged all parties to step back and explore all options, including a possible solution in Albany, if needed, so that we may end the strike quickly. Thousands of hardworking families simply cannot afford to go through another day of this.
Thanks again for your dedication and service to our city, Ms. Lancetta. Like you and many other New Yorkers caught in the middle of this, I hope a resolution can be reached very soon.
If I can be of any further help to you, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council