State Labor Board Hearing Of Owner-Operator Complaint Continues

By Eliza Hallabeck

WETHERSFIELD — Connecticut’s Board of Labor Relations continued its hearing Wednesday, March 7, on a complaint by Newtown’s owner-operators over the bargaining practices of the Newtown Board of Education.

The hearing session on the complaint went before the labor board on December 29 and the expected final session on the matter is scheduled for March 30.

The complaint made to the State Board of Labor Relations by the owner-operators, who are individually contracted bus drivers responsible primarily for regular education routes in town and maintaining privately owned buses, alleges the Board of Education failed to bargain with the group prior to deciding whether to open the 2012–17 transportation contract for bids.

The owner-operators are represented by attorney Henry F. Murray in the case, and the Board of Education is represented by its attorney, Floyd Dugas.

The complaint, filed on behalf of the owner-operators with the state panel, alleges the district violated the Municipal Employees Labor Relations Act (MELRA). It was issued by Mr Murray, and alleges a violation of Section 7-470 (4) of MELRA in that the board failed to bargain with the owner-operators through their elected contract committee with respect to its decision to subcontract school bus driving responsibilities.

Following an executive session on October 4, the Board of Education voted 5-1, with current board chair and then-vice chair Debbie Leidlein the sole vote against the motion, to approve the final five-year contract between the school district and All-Star Transportation Inc of Torrington. The contract was originally awarded to All-Star in early September.

The collective owner-operators tendered the fourth lowest bid at $11.7 million; First Student Transportation bid just over $11 million and DATTCO presented an $11.4 million bid for the contract. All-Star was the lowest qualified bidder for the 2012–17 contract, at just over $10.2 million for the five-year contract.

Owner-operator Carey Schierloh continued as a witness on Wednesday, and she was the sole person called to speak during at case’s first hearing session.

To questions posed by Mr Dugas, Ms Schierloh said the owner-operators were never referred to as anything other than owner-operators during negotiations with the school district.

Also during her testimony Ms Schierloh explained the owner-operators are paid monthly, and taxes are not withheld from the payments. She also said owner-operators are responsible for maintaining the buses, and her bus is kept at her home when not in use. Other owner-operators in town also keep their buses at their homes, and some rent space at a local business.

Mr Dugas also asked Ms Schierloh if she has an understanding as to her ability to obtain a job with All-Star following the end of the owner-operators contract this June.

“I don’t know,” Ms Schierloh responded. “Nobody has offered me anything.”

School district Transportation Coordinator Cathy Hydeck was the next witness called in the case. She said she has been employed by the Newtown Board of Education for ten years this April.

As one of the district’s two transportation coordinators, Ms Hydeck said she reports to Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson.

During her testimony Ms Hydeck said her office maintains proficiency reports on the owner-operators and notifies the drivers about upcoming safety requirements. It is also her job to notify individual owner-operators when they are scheduled for drug tests. On the day of drug tests, Ms Hydeck said she notifies a driver to report for testing before that afternoon. Other records maintained by the transportation department, Ms Hydeck said, include medical records, safety records, and information about the buses.

Ms Hydeck also said drivers can be disciplined by the school district, and to become an owner-operator individuals have to be approved by the school board after going through an interview process.

Bus routes, Ms Hydeck said, are determined by herself and Transportation Coordinator Maritza Nezvesky using a software program.

“Everything,” she said, “right down to the last detail.”

While Mr Dugas was speaking to Ms Hydeck, she testified that the town is protected under the provided liability insurance, and owner-operators are fined for things like having cameras on a bus that are not operating.

School district Business Director Ron Bienkowski was the last witness to speak on Wednesday, and he will be called at the next scheduled hearing session as Mr Dugas’s main witness.

When questioned by Mr Murray, Mr Bienkowski testified that in 2010, Transportation Advisory Services, a New York student transportation consulting and advisory firm, was tasked with determining Newtown’s transportation system’s cost as compared to other towns in the state.

Mr Bienkowski later said the report was an additional consideration when determining whether to put the five-year transportation contract out to bid, but he also said it compared Newtown to five or six towns. Compared to those towns, Mr Bienkowski said Newtown was paying a significantly higher rate for student transportation.

Mr Dugas objected to the document prepared by Transportation Advisory Services, saying it was being offered with a gratuitous comment included in the document that shared an opinion on whether the owner-operators were employees or contractors.

The Transportation Advisory Services report, Mr Bienkowski said, was later determined to be insufficient and was not shared with the Board of Education.

During negotiations with the owner-operators, Mr Bienkowski also said on Wednesday, there was adequate warning the town would go to bid on the contract to find the best cost savings for the town.

After the bid documents were released, Mr Bienkowski said he contacted Ms Schierloh on July 12 and questioned what would happen with the complaint filed with the State Board of Labor Relations if the owner-operators were awarded the bid. Mr Bienkowski said Ms Schierloh responded the complaint would be dropped.

When questioned if All-Star’s bid for the five-year contract was always the lowest bid on the contract, Mr Bienkowski said each company’s rate sheets remained the same after being submitted.

“It’s very clear in the bid what the daily rates were, which is what the bid is all about,” said Mr Bienkowski.

Hearing officers for the State Board of Labor Relations were Patricia Low, Wendella Ault Battey, and Barbara J. Collins, who at the start of the first hearing session announced she would act impartially for the purpose of the hearing but made it clear for the record that she has worked on cases with and against Mr Dugas. No one present at the first meeting voiced concern with her statement.

The expected final hearing for the case is scheduled for Friday, March 30, at 9:30 am at the Connecticut Department of Labor in Wethersfield.