Simmering Labor Dispute Leaves Bussing Unsettled for Start of School
Year

By RACHEL KOVAC

Vineyard schools superintendent James Weiss fielded his first
controversy this week when a simmering labor dispute between bus drivers
and the company under contract with the school district bubbled into the
public arena.

School bus drivers turned out in force for a Martha's Vineyard
Regional High School committee meeting Monday night to air their
grievances. Nine days before the start of the school year, drivers told
the high school committee that MV Coachlines might not have enough
drivers to roll buses next Thursday because of unpaid bonuses,
inhospitable working conditions, reduced routes and distrust of company
president Edward W. Pigman.

"Are you aware of the disenfranchisement of the drivers with
Mr. Pigman?" asked Michael Kemley, a school bus driver. "A
lot of the drivers aren't going to drive on principle alone. There
has been a serious breach."

After a flawed bid process this summer, the high school committee
and up-Island school committee awarded a one-year school bus contract to
MV Coachlines, which is a subsidiary of Transit Resource Center in
Winter Springs, Fla. MV Coachlines managed the school buses last year
for the first time after the school district had a dispute with Island
Transport, which had held the contract for 20 years.

Now drivers are saying they will not work for Mr. Pigman. Mr. Weiss,
however, said he has been assured there will be enough drivers to run
the school buses on opening day. Mr. Pigman has shown Mr. Weiss a list
of drivers, including 13 full-time, nine part-time and three in
training.

"This is a very fluid situation and I will be calling him
every day to make sure," Mr. Weiss said Thursday.

The pool of people who are licensed to operate a school bus is
small, and certification is a long and expensive process that requires
hours of training and a trip off-Island for testing. Several drivers
have said while their names were on Mr. Pigman's list they have
told him they will not drive for him. Drivers met last night to receive
route assignments from MV Coachlines.

The meeting Monday was not the first time Mr. Weiss and some school
committee members had heard about the bus drivers' feelings. On
August 17 Mr. Weiss and school committee members Robert Tankard and
David E. Morris met with 12 drivers and Scott Dario, owner of Island
Transport, in the parking lot of the Martha's Vineyard Regional
High School.

The meeting was taped by Tom Dresser, a school bus driver and an
occasional contributor to the Gazette, who provided the Gazette with the
tape yesterday.

During the meeting, bus drivers laid out their grievances with MV
Coachlines management, detailing in particular problems with their
salary bonuses and registering concern over Mr. Pigman's ability
to effectively make decisions regarding the Island from his base in
Florida.

"My number one concern is that the kids get transported
safely," Bob Holt said. "The drivers who drive these kids
think of them as their kids. All of a sudden we've got this guy
from thousands of miles away who doesn't care about that.
I'm personally disappointed. I'm concerned they're not
going to get to school safely and we're being treated like
second-class citizens."

On the subject of bonuses - promised to be awarded in June and
still not received as of the August 17 meeting - John Pearson
described an exchange with Mr. Pigman in which the manager said they
would get the bonuses in three parts and only if they agreed to work for
him again this year, a move some in the group characterized as
blackmail.

Subsequently, 14 drivers retained Vineyard attorney Marilyn H.
Vukota to plead their case. Ms. Vukota sent a letter to Mr. Pigman on
August 19 asking for the bonuses to be paid.

The bonuses were paid the following day.

Many of the drivers told Mr. Weiss they have stepped up to the plate
before for the schools, but they will not work for Mr. Pigman. They also
said they are not collectively organizing but are making individual
decisions whether to drive for the start of school.

Mr. Weiss, Mr. Tankard and Mr. Morris encouraged the drivers to
attend the next school committee meeting and air their grievances.

"It's a done deal," Mr. Weiss told them. "We
voted a one-year agreement. I'll be very honest with you, if
there's a way to get out from under all of this nonsense,
that's for me. I don't know what it is yet."

At the high school committee meeting Monday, drivers were given the
opportunity to speak, but Mr. Weiss encouraged school committee members
not to get involved because the drivers' grievances are with MV
Coachlines, which is contracted by the school, and the drivers are not
the school's employees.

"Some of the drivers are not going to drive period," Mr.
Kemley said. "Without going into all the dynamics, you have a
serious problem on your hands."

Mr. Tankard said his concern is that there are real problems and
school is around the corner. He said he does not want to be in a
position where there are not enough drivers to run the buses on opening
day.

Mr. Weiss said if the drivers choose not to show up on opening day
after agreeing to work, then they are not the kind of people he wants
working in the district. The remark caused uproar among the drivers and
David Rossi, a school committee member and Edgartown police officer,
calmed the room with a sharp command.

Drivers also questioned whether there was impropriety in the bidding
process.

In March school committee members agreed to seek a one-year
transportation contract. A request for proposals (RFP) was issued for
bids from outside vendors and contractors after several months of
writing, rewriting and scrutiny by lawyers. Responses were due June 17.

Amy Tierney, assistant to the superintendent for business affairs,
was told on June 20 by the office of the state inspector general that
transportation bids only can be offered to contractors as an invitation
to bid, not an RFP.

Under an invitation to bid the decision only can be made by a yes or
no vote, and state law requires the schools to accept the lowest
suitable bid. An RFP allows each section of the proposal to be judged
individually to determine which bid to accept.

Ms. Tierney put the transportation out for bid again at the
beginning of July, this time as an invitation to bid, with responses due
July 17. Two vendors submitted bids for the transportation contract
- MV Coachlines for $1,888,907 and Island Transport for
$1,997,836. The contract was awarded to MV Coachlines in late July.

Mr. Weiss admitted Monday that many people knew the bid amounts from
the failed RFP process, but did not know who said what to whom. He also
said that MV Coachlines bid $100,000 less during the invitation to bid
process while Island Transport's bid did not change.

Mr. Pigman explained the reason behind that last month when the
committee met to award the contract. He said during the RFP process his
company was agreeing to provide additional services such as consulting
and training.

Yesterday Mr. Dario said he was aware that Ms. Tierney spoke with
Mr. Pigman about the RFP bids and that she later apologized to him for
talking with Mr. Pigman.

He also said right now he believes MV Coachlines is violating its
contract with the school system because the bidder must have "no
pending or threatened labor disputes, strike, or work stoppages."

MV Coachlines has also dropped from having 15 routes to 13 routes,
which concerns Mr. Dario because children will be on buses longer and
drivers will work longer hours.

Mr. Dario also said he wonders why he has not received his $32,000
check from the school district.

When a vendor bids for a contract it must hand over an insurance
check. If the vendor does not receive the bid the check is returned
- but after six weeks of waiting Mr. Dario was told by the
superintendent's office that the check couldn't be released
to him because the contract has not been finalized.

On Monday Mr. Weiss said the contract had not been signed due to
final negotiations.

Mr. Dario said he is aware of the situation and is prepared to step
in and manage the school buses if needed.

"The school bus drivers are great," he said. "I
feel personally the drivers have done so much for the school and the
kids. This is all about transporting kids safely."

For now Mr. Weiss will continue to monitor the situation, but he
said the buses will run next Thursday.

"I want to make sure the kids get to school on Monday,"
he said. "I'll be calling daily to make sure until the buses
roll."