District 300 bus drivers to vote on union

After months of waiting, bus drivers in Community Unit District 300 will finally get to vote on which union represents them.

Since District 300 privatized its bus contract last year, the Teamsters and the Illinois Education Association, which represented drivers before the district went private, have been jockeying to represent the more than 200 bus drivers in the district.

The drivers complain of unaffordable health care and say their employer, Durham School Services, has not treated them with respect.

Durham must start negotiating a contract with the Illinois Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, by June 24.

The contractor hasn't bargained with either union, saying it was waiting for the unions and drivers to resolve the issue of representation.

If the Illinois Education Association can wring concessions from Durham, the union will have an achievement to point to when it campaigns prior to the union election set for Oct. 29.

The election date and bargaining deadline were set under a settlement agreement reached Friday between Durham and the unions.

Drivers on both sides of the union dispute applauded the settlement but said they should have had a contract and an election months ago.

"It's way overdue," said Kerry Akers, a District 300 driver from East Dundee. "We've all been waiting."

Tensions between the Illinois Education Association and the Teamsters spilled out into the open at a rally the teachers union hosted Monday for District 300's drivers.

Some 100 bus drivers and union members from Elgin to St. Charles, including about 30 District 300 bus drivers, attended the rally at Dundee Middle School Monday evening.

About 20 Teamsters showed up to the rally and angrily demanded answers from Illinois Education Association officials.

"Why has it taken until the end of the school year for you guys to do something?" asked Russ Harris, a District 300 driver who supports the Teamsters.

The Teamsters have accused the Illinois Education Association of delaying an election by filing a grievance against Durham. Labor officials will not allow an election to take place while the grievance is pending.

The rally turned into a brief shouting match between the Teamsters and supporters of the Illinois Education Association before the teachers union moved outside and held signs in support of bus drivers.

Before hostilities flared, Illinois Education Association state President Ken Swanson hailed the settlement as "a victory that moves your cause forward."

After the rally, Swanson denied the Illinois Education Association had used the grievance against Durham to stall an election.

"It certainly was not our intent to delay anything," Swanson said. "What I hope is they will come to realize they need to unite as one voice."

A judge is set to approve the settlement between Durham and the unions on Wednesday.