Today's hand out letter from the Union to the Parents was written very well. It was short, simple and to the point.
BUT.........
It asks for the Parent's support and understanding. Which is great. BUT in my opinion if you don't actually tell the parents how to voice their support then the letter is useless. We'd be lucky if one out of ten parents did something on their own.
At the end of the letter it should have stated to call or email ur council person, Congressperson or the Mayor's Office and ask them to help with the negotiations. Or give them the number to that Parent Organization or even to call Pioneer and ask for the owner.
So as good as the letter is, it's basically worthless!

Word of Advice for All especially new Members that may not know. In case we go out on Strike before October and are on strike for the entire month of October and possibly beyond, you will not have medical and prescription coverage for that time (unless you have coverage outside of 1181).
So to be on the safe side if you unfortunately see doctors and get prescriptions on a routine basis then I would try to get in and see those Doctors and get those Prescriptions filled before the end of September. Just my opinion.

Senior Drivers & Attendants
Check ur paystubs. I thought last week was a guaranteed week, meaning we get paid for a total of 40 hours excluding any Run Coverage. I'm looking at mine and unless I'm reading it wrong or don't understand what a guaranteed week means, I only got paid for the Holiday and the days I actually worked. What about anyone else?

One month since our contract ended.
How's the negotiations going?

Direct deposit, check ur banks.
The Accrual Eagle has Shit

Yesterday a relatively new driver (I think about a year here) goes on the radio and says
No one at the stop for child.
It sounded like this was the second day in a row and possibly the 3rd time since September.
Then the driver goes on to say (NOT ASK)
"We're calling OPT about this!!!!"
"I'm putting in for Overtime!!!!"
"I'm bringing this kid to the Police Station!!!!"
SMH
I understand the frustration but there's a way to go about things and this is not that way!

I remember when Neil first leased the Sharrotts property and Joe was the GM & Eddie was Steward.
We were told don't worry that whenever a driver needed transportation to and from each yard that it would be provided.
Now all we hear on the radio is "Anyone going by AK that can give a driver a ride to Sharrotts? or "Is there a driver that can stop by the main yard to bring the time cards to Sharrotts?"
When they said transportation would be provided, I didn't think they meant by us!

Just to touch on Buzz's earlier post this week with regards to Members that read but don't post or comment.
I've been at Pioneer for 20 years and I've been a member of this site for quite some time now. And I've also noticed the decline in members commenting on the site. What the reason is, I don't know. It could be one of many reasons.
Having said that on behalf of myself and everyone at Pioneer I just want to thank Buzz for this site and his brotherhood.

Apparently there is a Union Meeting tonight at 7:30. Thank God they notified us by email at 3:41pm today about it. SMH

We were told today that there have been ongoing negotiations with the latest being this morning. The Union stated the these negotiations including this morning's have gone nowhere and be prepared for a Strike Vote in May. For those of you that may not know if we do have a vote and if the majority of the members vote yes that doesn't mean that we will definitely go out on strike. What it does mean is that we the members give our Reps the authority to use a possible strike as a bargaining chip in the negotiations. But just remember if we vote yes and the companies and Union do not reach an agreement on a new contract and the Union says we're going out, then we're going out!
I don't know the particulars of what our Representatives have been asking for except that they're asking for everything back that we lost in 2013.
Does that mean that they are asking that "New Hires" and those with seniority are all under the same contract??? I don't know.
Does that mean that they are asking that all NYC Companies that have contracts with 1181 will all be under the same contract again? I don't know.
Or does it mean that we're just trying to get back specific things such as holidays, 8 hours instead of 4 hours on non DOE days, etc., etc.? I don't know.
All three of the above mentioned are things that we lost (or were changed) in 2013.
My advice and opinion to myself and to all is to ask our Steward and Delegate questions before a vote and if there is one more Union Meeting in April before a strike vote in May, to go to that meeting and speak up and ask questions.
I would not take this lightly and I would not just vote and go by what others suggest.
Having said that, my opinion, if there is a vote I'm already leaning towards NO but I will do exactly what I said and inquire into detail before I make my final decision.

Buzz, I see there's a Union Meeting tomorrow night. Do you know if there'll be 1 or 2 dinner buses?

Before we know it June 30th will be here!

Don't forget to claim unemployment tomorrow morning for this past week

For everyone under the old contract and I believe those under the new contract with at least 5 full years if u have direct deposit check ur bank account and if not check the driver's room. Christmas week pay is here as of today.

I always get to work early but today I got there even earlier. If you don't have a Special Ed bus if it were not for Bobby & Brian in all probability 50% of us would be late for our first school every day. The back of the yard is a cluster f***!
These two guys work non stop for one hour each morning jumping from bus to bus moving them so when we get in our buses we just put it in drive and go.
In the dark, in the rain, in the freezing cold, etc.. Obviously I understand they get paid to do it but I for one won't do it and most likely couldn't do it. Reason for this post? My opinion, during this Holiday Season if you can spare it, show each of them a little appreciation.
Merry Christmas

This morning when Carmine was on the radio going through the checklist I was so tempted to say "And don't forget your spare fuses" but I didn't want to confuse anyone.

Just a reminder for those that may have a Senior Moment (don't want to mention any names), we should be receiving our cleaning allowance checks this week!!!

Hey Buzz
U do know today is Payday?
Happy Thanksgiving!

Check ur bank accounts
We got paid today!!!

Don't forget ur $100 Safety Bonus today.
It's a separate check.