From:   Carin Ulrich, DTU President

To:       The District 15 Community

Re:      Response to Termination of Probationary Driver

As such, we fully support the termination of the probationary driver who hit a vehicle on April 8, 2013. 

The probationary driver’s failure to report the accident is without excuse.

Only today, the Union discovered several things:

1.    The probationary driver was trained by and was hired from an outsourced bus company.

2.    Even though the probationary driver had worked in the District less than three weeks, this was not his first accident.   The same driver who was involved in yesterday’s accident was also involved in an accident last week.   In that accident, the probationary driver hit a tree branch with his school bus, resulting in broken and damaged bus windows.

3.    Upon termination, the District offered a letter of recommendation to the terminated driver. 

The Union was never notified by the District of any events or accidents involving this probationary driver.  

We are utterly appalled by the District’s handling of this event. 

The Union unapologetically believes the probationary driver should have been terminated much earlier.

The Union is also at a complete loss in trying to understand the District’s motivation for providing a letter of recommendation to a terminated employee who was involved in at least two accidents during his three weeks of employment. 

This event is yet one more example of the ongoing and deeply frustrating challenges faced by the drivers and aides in District 15. 

The DTU always has been and will always be committed to our first priority, which is student safety. 

We again ask the District to stop the rhetoric and be honest with itself, us, and the community. That’s why our offer to negotiate fully in public still stands.

We’re committed to providing our kids with the safest bus service in the world.  We always have, and we always will.

 ***PRESS RELEASE***

© 2013 Illinois Education Association