School bus drivers walking off on strike???

[Lanshark]

An automated e-mail notice had been sent. What if you didn't read the email that morning? What if you don't....GASP.... have internet access? To say they are striking is one thing. To state that they have no idea who will have bus service and who will not is not acceptable.

I've read a few of the responses and find it interesting so many people are basically saying "so what". Not everyone has the flexibility to pick the kids up from school and it is pretty tough to arrange a car pool with a few hours notice. My big problem is the short notice and not being able to tell parents if their kids have a ride home this afernoon.

 

[Hannathy]

What bothered me most about this thread is the comment about what if you are a dr and can't come so what you are a dr you are in a better position than most to make other arrangements. Contrary to many oppinions you are not any better than the McDonalds worker who can't walk off the job either or be fired. I doubt you would get fired and if you did it wouldn't be hard to find another job. When you choose to have both parents working with kids you also choose to have back up arrangements. As far as the school they will not let the kids wander the streets, I'm sure they will hold any child that isn't a walker at the school until picked up by a designated person on the emergency dismissal form you fill out every year.

 

[Jennasis]

It must be nice to have an job that is relatively unimportant that you can do that.
Some of us real doctors can't exactly walk off our jobs . . .

WOAH...what an unpleasant attack. And unwarranted. LIghten up! How do you know what the other poster does for a living and what gives you the right the JUDGE wherether her job is important or not? As for your "some of us real doctors" line...just...EWwwwwwwww.

Anywho...A strike is a strike whether it's the airline, or steel workers, or bus drivers. They are indeed designed to hold the employers "hostage" until their demands are heard/met. I don't always agree with the demands or reasoning behind a strike, but they are what they are. If it were me and I had no idea if my kids were going to have busses or not I'd arrange with a neighbor, relative etc to get the kids to and from school until it was over. It sucks to no end, but it isn't going to last forever.

Sorry that your district is going through such a mess, but I am glad that your children aren't affected by it

 

[golfgal]

I don't give a you-know-what who the middle man is. I REPEAT...I pay my taxes. With those taxes, the school system CHOOSES to provide bus service...THEY DO...whether they have to or not, THEY DO. If the bus drivers, working for the company that our town CHOOSES to pay for services, strike suddenly, then A) they should be fired, but can't be, because unions have too much power, and B) not all parents have the LUXURY, that some people here seem to have, of dropping what they're doing. potentially day after day after day after day and longer, at the mercy of the union, nor family members nearby or friends who can drop what they're doing to suddenly have to provide rides to their children, potentially day after day after day and longer, and it's NOT that they don't care about their kids!

Got it?

Another thing with this post is that if you FIRE all the bus drivers that strike, who is going to drive the bus? Most bus companies have a very hard time finding drivers because the job pretty much stinks. Also, in our district, the school doesn't own the buses so they don't have any power what so ever to fire/hire drivers.

Yes, your district chooses to provide bus service, but they could tell you tomorrow that they are discontinuing bus service and what are you going to do about that? It is a choice between having bus service or cutting teachers?

Another thing I find curious is the first anyone heard about this was through an e-mail? Nothing was in any newspaper that this might happen, this hit everyone out of the blue one day?

 

[momof2inPA]

everyone waits a bit at the doctor's office. would you rather have a doctor that refuses to see your sick child so they can start their "scheduled" appointments on time?

OT- There was a long thread on this a few weeks ago, if you would like to do a search. I would rather have doctors not overbook or have their offices call when they are running late, not just have everyone wait around in hopes that they will catch up, or just call in a prescription for your kid's 12th ear infection. One of my kids' pediatricians has actually come in on a Sunday to see the kids, so there are some great doctors out there to balance out the rude ones.

Back on topic- Are the busses running, today, or are you sweating it out again?

 

[momof2inPA]

Another thing with this post is that if you FIRE all the bus drivers that strike, who is going to drive the bus? Most bus companies have a very hard time finding drivers because the job pretty much stinks. Also, in our district, the school doesn't own the buses so they don't have any power what so ever to fire/hire drivers.

That is so true. The turnover here is very high. Taxpayers don't actually pay the drivers, they provide the money to the school board, who hires a bus company. Farmers used to own their busses and provide this service, but most places have gone to a contracted company. So, as taxpayers, your complaints should be directed at the school board who can either (1) put pressure on the company to resolve their differences with employees or (2) hire a new bus company.

 

[cardaway]

Actually, I'd describe it more as "hold people hostage until the ransom is paid."

Agreed. Along the same lines as teachers waiting until the beginning of the school year to do anything about their situation.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

What bothered me most about this thread is the comment about what if you are a dr and can't come so what you are a dr you are in a better position than most to make other arrangements. Contrary to many oppinions you are not any better than the McDonalds worker who can't walk off the job either or be fired. I doubt you would get fired and if you did it wouldn't be hard to find another job. When you choose to have both parents working with kids you also choose to have back up arrangements. As far as the school they will not let the kids wander the streets, I'm sure they will hold any child that isn't a walker at the school until picked up by a designated person on the emergency dismissal form you fill out every year.

If doctors (or nurses) walk out of the hospital when the patients need them, it is considered abandonment.

Not only do they lose their job, they lose their license, too. And they may face criminal negligence and civil suits as well. So, no, they can't just get another job. There is a very good chance that someone will die because you weren't there, which is why they can't leave...and people's lives ARE more important than whether you want fries with that.

I'm not saying one of God's creatures is more important than another, but the work that doctors do IS much, MUCH more important than the work most people do. Doctors, dentists, farmers. That stuff we NEED.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

In our town the school bus service is considered a "luxury" and it is not a RIGHT. Kids get kicked of buses all the time for misbehaving and they have no legal standing to get reinstated. We pay taxes, and a LOT of them, and they go to the school, not the bus company. If a school CHOOSES to provided busing out of the budget, great, but again, they don't have to provide buses for ANYONE, ANYWHERE (except special ed kids). Just because you are paying taxes to the school does NOT mean you are guaranteed bus service.

You really make it sound like the good people who run the schools are reaching into their pockets to pay for busses for all the poor families.

They aren't "providing" anything. The taxpayers are providing it for themselves, and may I add -salaries to everyone who works in the schools.

The taxpayers shouldn't be grateful - the administrators, teachers, and bus drivers should be.

If they think they can go out and make more money, they are certainly free to do it.

 

[Deb in IA]

An automated e-mail notice had been sent. What if you didn't read the email that morning? What if you don't....GASP.... have internet access? To say they are striking is one thing. To state that they have no idea who will have bus service and who will not is not acceptable.

I've read a few of the responses and find it interesting so many people are basically saying "so what". Not everyone has the flexibility to pick the kids up from school and it is pretty tough to arrange a car pool with a few hours notice. My big problem is the short notice and not being able to tell parents if their kids have a ride home this afernoon.

You know, Lanshark, I'm beginning to think that we Purdue grads are the only ones with any common sense around here . . .

 

[momof2inPA]

Leaving in the middle of a heart transplant isn't the same as leaving a room full of snuffy nosed kids for a half hour to pick up your own.

If the school district contracted with a bus company that had a labor contract, they should have foreseen that there could be a strike and planned accordingly. If the union employee's contract is up and they can't come to an agreement with the bus company, what do you think they will do? Just keep asking "pretty please" for their needs or demands to be met? This is life. If the bus drivers are permitted by law to strike, which the air traffic controllers were not, by the way, then they might actually do so at an inconvenient time. Twenty or thirty drivers walking off during the day would be more of a sick-out, designed to make the company scramble to fulfill their obligations to the school and think twice about forcing a strike ( not endanger kids ). It looks like it just might work, so good for them.

 

[momof2inPA]

You know, Lanshark, I'm beginning to think that we Purdue grads are the only ones with any common sense around here . . .

Fortunately, some of us have more common sense than others.

 

[Teejay32]

I've read a few of the responses and find it interesting so many people are basically saying "so what". Not everyone has the flexibility to pick the kids up from school and it is pretty tough to arrange a car pool with a few hours notice. My big problem is the short notice and not being able to tell parents if their kids have a ride home this afernoon.

I just gave an honest answer. To some of us transportation isn't a problem. I wouldn't go running to the school board for promises to fix everything, and wouldn't object to firing the drivers either. The drivers just don't have the same leverage as teachers would, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Deb in IA]

I'm not saying one of God's creatures is more important than another, but the work that doctors do IS much, MUCH more important than the work most people do. Doctors, dentists, farmers. That stuff we NEED.

Thank you, MouseWorshipin!!!

You know, I think it is amazing that people here are making accusations and assumptions about MY office workflow, wait policies, and my work habits. For the record, I have NO DIS'ers in my practice.

So, if I don't drop EVERYTHING, abandon my already-scheduled and in the office patients, and run out to pick up my kids from any and all unexpected occurances, like, a total melt-down of the polar ice caps, or a direct meteor strike on our school, or a school bus driver walk-out, then I'm a (gasp) BAD MOM. A cold-hearted, career-driven witch who cares more for her paycheck than her kids . . .

Now, if I DO run out and immediately at the sightest whiff of danger, get stuck in an interminable line of the 400 or so other cars of parents trying to pick up their kids, spend the next hour or two trying to find the kids and get out of the log-jammed parking lot, and keep the patients in my office waiting for more than 10.478 minutes, well, then I can expect to be flamed here, a la the "I waited to see my doctor for 14.78943 minutes!!!"

And finally, if my back-up (and YES, I do have emergency back-ups listed for my kids) happen to be in the SAME SITUATION, but at a different school, or happens to be sick that day, or forgot to turn on her cell phone, well, then, I'm screwed again.

Now, why did I decide to spend 29 years, $$$$$$$$$, pass 3 board and licensing exams, to work 70 hours a week? Oh, yeah . . . to HELP PEOPLE.

 

[golfgal]

An automated e-mail notice had been sent. What if you didn't read the email that morning? What if you don't....GASP.... have internet access? To say they are striking is one thing. To state that they have no idea who will have bus service and who will not is not acceptable.

I've read a few of the responses and find it interesting so many people are basically saying "so what". Not everyone has the flexibility to pick the kids up from school and it is pretty tough to arrange a car pool with a few hours notice. My big problem is the short notice and not being able to tell parents if their kids have a ride home this afernoon.

If I needed someone to pick up a child on short notice, I can think of at least 20 people off the top of my head that would do that, but then I would do the same for them. We don't have family around, we just have a network of friends and we all take turns doing things for each other. I am having a hard time understanding WHY this is such a big deal for everyone.

 

[Hannathy]

I am not that stupid I understand the reason why some people can't walk out instantly I am in the medical field. My point was the ATTITUDE I am a Dr. so I am more important, no you aren't. If you have a job that you can not leave then it is your responsibility to make arrangements for your kids. When I was working where I couldn't leave I knew every day who I could call or what would happen if my children needed something that is also your responsibility. Yes Dr's should loose their license if they abandon their patients But the time to think of these things is before it happens not the day you need it.

 

[MzDiz]

I'm tired of the attitude that says workers should be grateful they're getting a paycheck at all, and that if they strike, call down some more disposable serfs from the countryside to replace them.
My husband goes on strike every four years like clockwork, not because he wants to hold the caring corporation he works for hostage, but because that lovely corporation consistantly wants to strip them of their benefits. Of course, while they're taking away things like pensions and health care, the CEO is giving himself a multi-million dollar christmas bonus.
I'm happy everytime I see a strike, and support it all the way.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Thank you, MouseWorshipin!!!

You know, I think it is amazing that people here are making accusations and assumptions about MY office workflow, wait policies, and my work habits. For the record, I have NO DIS'ers in my practice.

So, if I don't drop EVERYTHING, abandon my already-scheduled and in the office patients, and run out to pick up my kids from any and all unexpected occurances, like, a total melt-down of the polar ice caps, or a direct meteor strike on our school, or a school bus driver walk-out, then I'm a (gasp) BAD MOM. A cold-hearted, career-driven witch who cares more for her paycheck than her kids . . .

Now, if I DO run out and immediately at the sightest whiff of danger, get stuck in an interminable line of the 400 or so other cars of parents trying to pick up their kids, spend the next hour or two trying to find the kids and get out of the log-jammed parking lot, and keep the patients in my office waiting for more than 10.478 minutes, well, then I can expect to be flamed here, a la the "I waited to see my doctor for 14.78943 minutes!!!"

And finally, if my back-up (and YES, I do have emergency back-ups listed for my kids) happen to be in the SAME SITUATION, but at a different school, or happens to be sick that day, or forgot to turn on her cell phone, well, then, I'm screwed again.

Now, why did I decide to spend 29 years, $$$$$$$$$, pass 3 board and licensing exams, to work 70 hours a week? Oh, yeah . . . to HELP PEOPLE.

You are totally welcome.

And say she leaves, and the guy who wasn't feeling right, thought maybe he had the flu, with these weird coffee-looking things in his vomit - he's left in the waiting room. Only it wasn't the flu, his kidneys were failing, and the toxins built up too high... But nobody was there to send him to the hospital or call him an ambulance.

So now he dies because the poor bus drivers thought they were being taken advantage of and didn't have the good sense to go someplace where they wouldn't be.

There ARE people who go to the doctor every time they (or their kid) gets a stuffy nose, but there are also people who are really and truly very ill.

 

[Hannathy]

No one is saying she has to leave . I am saying it is her responsibility to have someone available that can.It is any parents responsibility. And by the way you choose to work 70 hours a week no one is forcing you to that is a personal choice.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

No one is saying she has to leave . I am saying it is her responsibility to have someone available that can.It is any parents responsibility. And by the way you choose to work 70 hours a week no one is forcing you to that is a personal choice.

OK, so parents have to be responsible enough to plan for anything that might happen, and have people in place to deal with things like transporting their children, etc.

How come the bus drivers don't have to be responsible enough to do THEIR jobs? If everyone is equal, and no job is more important, why do doctors have to do their work, but bus drivers don't?

And what about the schools? Shouldn't they be responsible, too? Why don't they have people they can call to drive the busses if the guys who are supposed to do it aren't responsible enough to show up?

Or is it just the people who pay the bills need to be responsible? The folks shelling out for all the administrators, teachers, bus drivers, etc. They need to be responsible and understanding that sometimes the people they pay will just refuse to do their jobs...and figure out some way to live with it.

It isn't bad enough that we pay these guys waaay too much money for what they do, we now need to pay them AND DO THEIR JOBS FOR THEM?