Local unites, strategizes, wins

This spring, Naperville Transportation Association bus drivers were able to do something many thought couldn’t be accomplished, they won back jobs that the school board attempted three years ago to outsource.

How did they do it? By showing school board members of District 203 their strong ties to the community; by being politically savvy; and by committing themselves to providing fantastic service.

“I told the local that when they go out on the streets, it says Naperville in six-inch letters on the side of your bus and for the next three years you are auditioning for your job. Take care of the kids, the parents and the traffic. Take care that you’re the guy behind the wheel,” said Max Bochmann, a 38-year NTA veteran and its president, as well as an IEA executive committee member.

“We did. We won. And, we’re thrilled.”

In the spring of 2006, the school board decided it wanted to take a look at subcontracting its bus drivers under the guise that the district wouldn’t know whether running its own program was fiscally competitive unless they put it out for bid.

In the initial bid process, the NTA’s numbers were millions below competitors, Bochmann said. But the board wasn’t satisfied and was still considering outsourcing the drivers.

Bochmann said he then circulated a survey among his members that detailed their ages, where they lived, where they shopped, where they went to school, etc. Naperville is an affluent community.

The survey showed that many of the District 203 drivers either bought their homes there years ago, or came to work as an employee of one of the area’s major employers and then retired early and came to drive a bus as a second career.

“The net result was we have a very high ownership percentage in our local of homeowners and community members,” Bochmann said.

Ultimately, the board decided to subcontract less than 20 percent of the jobs. But in making that decision, they also proposed a contract to the existing District 203 drivers that slashed their pay by 20 percent, took away their holidays and made other significant changes.

So, the bus drivers had to decide if they wanted to stay and fight. Bochmann said he told them that while they were taking a cut in pay, they still had their pension and they still had health insurance — two big items. About 75 percent of the association’s members ratified the contract.

“In a sense, they cut the union brotherhood business to the core. But our people stood in and our people stood tall and we continued to meet the need.”

So, the bus drivers set their minds on the future. They put a big emphasis on customer satisfaction.

And, they actively campaigned against the three anti-tax members who were so against keeping the jobs in District 203. The drivers got behind three other candidates and the three candidates the bus drivers supported won the election.

“My local stepped up and did a wonderful job. If you want political action, a near-death experience is a great thing for that.”

Ultimately 15 to 19 percent of the District 203 drivers were subcontracted, first to Laidlaw and then after Laidlaw was sold, to First Student.

The contract expired this year and the board decided to end the subcontracting and let the NTA members have their routes back. That became official July 1.

“I have a functioning, integrated local for the first time ever. These people are pulling together. We have a need, a goal and something we want to achieve,” Bochmann said.