Meeting on bus driver shortage draws mixed reaction

Metro Nashville Public Schools board member Will Pinkston met Thursday afternoon with United Steelworkers representatives and bus drivers in the face of a district-wide bus driver shortage.

The meeting was called by union leadership to bring together Pinkston, drivers and labor leaders together to discuss the bus driver shortage that has caused late pickups and drop-offs this week for some students, said Kim L. Smith, the local United Steelworkers staff representative for bus drivers.

After the 3 p.m. meeting, Pinkston said the group asked how drivers could better communicate with the board and to relay that many drivers were financially hurting due to a variety of issues. The problems causing a bus driver shortage didn't just happened overnight, he said.

"These people are hurting, and the board and management have allowed this to devolve," Pinkston said. "It is time to fix it."

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The meeting has some board members questioning why Pinkston didn't reach out to the rest of the board to get others at the table with the union. Others say the meeting could help fix some of the issues that are causing many of the district's drivers to leave.

Right now, 143 of the total 560 bus driver positions are vacant. The union represents 132 of the district's drivers.

Two drivers were allowed to attend Thursday's meeting instead of driving their afternoon bus routes, said Fred Carr, the district's chief operating officer.

School board member Mary Pierce questioned why Pinkston decided to go alone to the meeting, especially when group negotiations could have been helpful. She also asked why Pinkston didn't reach out to interim Director of Schools Chris Henson to notify other board members about the meeting.

"We have a busing crisis," she said. "We need to be proactively working together."

Pierce also said she believes that Pinkston created a conflict of interest by going alone to the meeting. Pinkston is a communications consultant for the United Auto Workers union.

"Maybe this is a proactive step, but I feel like it's breaking some ... protocols," Pierce said.

The accusation is unfounded, Pinkston said. He said he checked Thursday afternoon with the union to confirm if there are any current ties with the steelworkers union.

Pinkston also said he wasn't made aware by union representatives about what the meeting would entail and who he would be meeting with. He added he frequently holds constituent meetings to discuss issues and is rarely questioned about those meetings.

"I believe there is a conflict as a charter parent to be seen with (charter officials) at all times when legal issues and appeals and other things are happening," he said of Pierce, who is a charter proponent. "That is much bigger if we are talking about conflict."

Board Chair Sharon Gentry said the two unions operate separate of each other and every board member must be mindful of whether they have a conflict.

"The challenge with our day jobs is that you are still a representative and we have to be responsive," she said. "I am not sure what the meeting was about, and I don’t know if they discussed the bus driver shortage, but this information has already been made available to us as a group through (Carr’s) presentation."

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Meeting raises concerns

The hope is for the union to take the full concerns of bus drivers to the entire board, said union representative Smith.

The union and drivers made Pinkston aware of the many issues within the department, including low wages, the district's lack of a plan for annual raises and a recent cutback in guaranteed pay - from 40 hours to 35 hours of pay a week.

There are also concerns the district will outsource some driving positions and routes, she said. She hopes the full board can work with the union.

"We want to get in there and work with the board," Smith said. "We want to fix, resolve and execute a plan that protects and takes care of drivers and the students they are busing."

Pinkston added there are a litany of issues the group relayed to him, including poor working conditions and culture.

"I am mostly disappointed, the board wasn't briefed on any of this until (Sunday)," he said. "My questions now aren't just the lack of information ... but where else are there problems."

Other board members' reactions to the meeting were mixed.

Board member Tyese Hunter said the board should bring one voice to the table and wanted Pinkston to notify the board of the meeting, even if it was a request for only one board member to meet.

"I am disappointed we are not working together as group versus a voice of one," Hunter said.

Board Vice Chair Anna Shepherd said she was unaware of the meeting Thursday, but expressed support for the union speaking with Pinkston.

"He will lend a sympathetic ear to any grievances at this point," she said. "They have some valid concerns, we only heard one side and we may not know the rest of the story.

"I hope he will bring back information to discuss."

But even with the meeting, Gentry said the main problem still lies with the district.

"We need to ensure we are creating the right environment that is conducive to hiring and retaining drivers," she said. "And we need to fix the circumstances that make it difficult to do that."

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Reach Jason Gonzales at 615-259-8047 and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.