Rockford school bus drivers authorize strike

Demonstrating their unity and determination to win a fair contract that ends poverty wages and keeps health insurance affordable, Rockford school bus drivers voted overwhelmingly to authorize their union bargaining committee to call a strike if the school district continues to refuse to treat drivers fairly.

“As bus drivers we are responsible for all of Rockford’s school children, and in return we deserve fair pay and affordable health care for our own children,” said Tracy Goodwin, a Rockford school bus driver for 18 years and president of the drivers’ union, AFSCME Local 1275.

Some 220 bus drivers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ensure the safe and timely transportation of more than 18,000 Rockford children to and from their homes and more than 45 district sites each day.

But what the district pays drivers doesn’t reflect their vital role. Despite working full time, most drivers are paid poverty wages that start at just $13,646 and average only $16,181 a year.

Worse, the school board is now trying to make drivers pay over 10 times more than what they’re already paying for family health coverage.

“We’ve negotiated, we’ve demonstrated, we’ve attended school board meetings, and the district says nice things in the newspaper but doesn’t budge at the table,” Goodwin said. “We don’t want to strike, but we’re willing to do it. We can’t go on like this, and as drivers we are united.”

The school district’s previous contract with the drivers expired June 30.

Negotiations between the drivers’ union bargaining team and district representatives are next scheduled for Nov. 10.

“We’re sending a loud and clear message to the school district that the moment for empty promises is over, and the time for real progress is here,” bus driver and union president Goodwin said. “Drivers are standing together and we’re ready to do whatever it takes to win fairness for our families.”