Two hundred and fifty-four readers, nearly 72 percent of which have the title of transportation director, said in this month’s magazine survey that they oversee employee hiring and wages. But about 40 percent of these same readers lead a union shop. The ratified contracts in these school districts can set the starting pay, escalators, benefits, guaranteed hours, and more.
While these transportation directors may retain “oversight” of their staff, pay can be largely out of their control. The survey also finds that nearly 57 percent of 205 readers think pay or lack thereof is the main reason for the school bus driver shortage. Find a breakdown of average starting and maximum school bus driver pay by region on page 30 and 31. Granted it’s not a scientific study, but the snapshot indicates most school districts are within a couple of dollars of each other. (We omitted Alaska and Hawaii as well as national school bus contractors because we only received two responses.)
What intrigued me the most about this month’s survey is that school bus drivers in 78 of 143 districts that self-categorized as rural do not belong to a union, while only 25 school districts in that same group are in city/urban areas. Meanwhile, 52 of 102 city/urban districts are union shops, and 24 are rural. (Suburban was also a choice.)
Statistically speaking, there isn’t much difference between rural and urban centers when it comes to decisions on whether to (or the ability to) unionize or not. This is despite the presumption that workers in urban areas are more likely to join a union, as they also are more likely to live in union states. The logic goes that rural areas are more likely to be found in right-to-work or, as unions would call them, anti-union states. But that’s not necessarily the case either. Exhibit A is the recent unionization of Blue Bird,
another historic first for the Georgia manufacturer. (Not too far away in North Carolina, the Thomas Built Buses factory has been unionized for years.)
Overall, the scales tip in favor of non-union drivers by a count of 58 percent to 42 percent. But the gap is narrowing. The negotiated pay scale can be a selling point, as Senior Editor Taylor Ekbatani reports this month. Several sources tell her wages are on average with other driving positions in their areas. You can read more about their responses starting on page 32.
But other benefits can help make up for pay, these transportation directors also tell Ekbatani. That trends with what we’ve been hearing since the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the historic labor shortage affecting this industry.
The point that appears to resonate the most is department and organizational culture. People want to work where they are appreciated. They want to spend four, six, eight hours a day at a place that feels like a second home and where they know they make a difference. Some place where their supervisors have their backs. Where they can receive health benefits and personal days off, where they can participate in retirement plans. Where parents or grandparents can set their schedules around their children’s.
And when it comes to pay or even more importantly onboard student behavior issues their boss goes to bat for them.
Being a school bus driver might be a means to an end for some. But even in those cases, it can quickly turn into a calling and a career, or at least a lifelong appreciation for the job. Like a teacher because a school bus driver is exactly that.
Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the June 2024 issue of School Transportation News.
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