Owner-Operator Labor Board

Complaint Hearing To Continue

By Eliza Hallabeck

WETHERSFIELD — The state Board of Labor Relations continued its hearing, Friday, March 30, of a complaint by Newtown’s school bus owner-operators, who are individually contracted bus drivers responsible primarily for regular education routes in town and maintaining privately owned buses. The owner-operators allege the Newtown Board of Education failed to bargain with the group prior to deciding whether to open the 2012–17 transportation contract for bids.

The complaint first went before the labor board on December 29.

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

The complaint asserts the district violated the Municipal Employees Labor Relations Act (MELRA). It was issued by Mr Murray, who cites 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 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, offerings its services for just over $10.2 million for the five-year contract.

Owner-operator Philip Carroll was the first witness called on Friday. Mr Carroll testified he has been driving for the Newtown Board of Education as an owner-operator since 1995, and drove for the district as a substitute driver before that.

Mr Carroll said his contract with the school district is under his company’s name, Carroll Transportation LLC.

Along with overseeing his own transportation route and the maintenance of his vehicle, Mr Carroll said he also oversees safety training for the owner-operators in town. The practice of Mr Carroll overseeing safety training was verbally agreed upon with former transportation director Tony DiLonardo, according to Mr Carroll.

While Mr Carroll, in response to a question from Mr Murray, said he has not been approached with an opportunity to work for All-Star Transportation, he said he would not be open to that possibility.

Fran McCutchan, owner of McCutchan Transportation, also spoke during the hearing session. McCutchan Transportation, she said, provides transportation for field trips, sports teams, and more. Ms McCutchan has three contracts with the school district and eight buses are used for McCutchan Transportation to provide busing for the district.

While one bus is kept at her home, Ms McCutchan said the others are stored at a parking lot when not in use.

Another owner-operator, Michael Voight, was also called during the hearing session. He spoke regarding his ownership of American Contractor LLC, which provides transportation for the school district through his owner-operator contract and oversees a landscaping business.

While most of the owner-operators individual contracts are set to expire in June, Mr Voight testified that his contract is one of the few that runs through 2013. Like multiple owner-operators, Mr Voight said he keeps his bus at his home when it is not being used to transport students.

After being questioned by Mr Murray, Mr Voight said he has not been informed that he could be eligible to be hired by All-Star, but he said he would be open to the idea of working hourly as opposed to owning and servicing his own bus.

The final speaker for the hearing session was Thomas Adams, an owner-operator and part-owner of MTM Transportation, which is primarily responsible for providing special education transportation in town. As Mr Adams said on Friday, MTM also helps provide regular education routes in the district.

MTM Transportation, Mr Adams said, has a contract with the Newtown Public Schools, and has roughly 40 buses.

Mr Adams also explained his arrangement with the district is different than other owner-operators in town. While other drivers are contractually obligated to oversee routes a certain portion of the school year, Mr Adams has an MTM driver who mostly oversees his. Since becoming an owner-operator in 1986, Mr Adams said he has also been providing mechanic services for the district. While he does not oversee mechanic work on all the owner-operator buses, Mr Adams said he is responsible for most of them. The owner-operators pay him for his services, he said.

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 role as a hearing officer.

With two more witnesses set to be called, a final hearing session was scheduled for May 9 at 1:30 pm at the Connecticut Department of Labor in Wethersfield.