January 7, 2013: New York City is the latest battleground in corporate politicians’ war against workers.
This latest assault is led by Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of NYC who got rich providing media services to Wall Street. NYC has faced budget problems ever since Bloomberg’s Wall Street buddies drove the economy over the cliff in 2008. Now Bloomberg, who has long resisted higher taxes on Wall Street, wants to balance the budget shortfall on the backs of workers.
His target: public school bus drivers and aides, including more than 1,000 Teamsters.
Bloomberg wants to slash the cost of transporting 152,000 NYC students by eliminating decades-old rules (called Employee Protection Provisions) that stop bus companies that win bids with the Department of Education from cutting the wages and benefits of bus drivers and aides.
The Employee Protection Provisions were won as a result of a 13 week strike in 1979 and requires companies to hire laid off union drivers and bus aides from a Master Seniority List. Experienced bus drivers and aides can “follow their work” and maintain their wages and benefits if a new company takes over or wins new routes.
On Sunday, thousands of school bus drivers and parents rallied at New York’s City Hall to speak out for protecting their jobs and to prepare for a possible strike.
Click here to read more on the rally and possibility of a strike.