Driver Contract 2011-2014
THIS AGREEMENT, made this ___ day of June, 2013, by and between THE MOUNT OLIVE BOARD OF EDUCATION, located at 89 Route 46, Budd Lake, New Jersey, hereinafter referred to as the “EMPLOYER” (or the BOARD), and the Teamsters Local 97, a labor organization with its principal place of business located at 485 Chestnut St, Union, NJ 07083, hereinafter called the “UNION”.
ARTICLE 1.RECOGNITION
1.1: The Board hereby recognizes the Union as the majority representative and thereby as the exclusive representative for collective negotiations concerning the terms and conditions of employment as permitted by law of the contracted employees of the Board on the following designated position:
Bus Driver
but, excluding non-contracted substitutes and all other employees. A contracted driver is defined as one employed to drive one or more regularly scheduled or contracted runs, exclusive of non-regularly scheduled runs such as field trips or athletic events.
1.2: Unless otherwise indicated, the term “drivers” when used hereafter in this Agreement shall refer to all personnel represented by the Union in the negotiating unit as above defined, and where the text herein so requires.
ARTICLE 2. UNION SECURITY
2.1: Union Security
The Board agrees it will give effect to the following:
At the time of hire, newly hired employees, who fall within the bargaining unit, will be informed that they have the chance to join the Union,at the successful completion of a ninety (90) day probationary period, or pay to the Local Union a Representation Fee. All present members can remain members of the Local Union in good standing by payment of the regular monthly dues. All present employees who are not members of the Local Union will pay a Representation Fee as set forth hereinafter.
2.2: Union Representation
The Board recognizes the right of the Union to designate one (1) Chief Steward, three (3) alternates and a secretary for the enforcement of this Agreement. The Union shall furnish the Board with a written list of Stewards and alternates, and notify the Board of any changes.
The authority of the Steward and the alternates so designated by the Union shall be limited to and shall not exceed the following duties and activities:
Investigation and presentation of grievances in accordance with the provisions of this agreement.
Transmissions of such messages and information which shall originate with and are authorized by the Union or its officers.
ARTICLE 3.CHECK-OFF OF UNION FEE
3.1:Deduction of Union Fees
3.1.1:The Board hereby agrees to deduct from the wages of employees by means of a check-off the dues uniformly required by the labor organization pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.52: 14-15. 9e. The Board, after receipt of written authorization from each individual employee, agrees to deduct monthly dues and initiation fees from the salaries of each employee. Such deductions shall be made in accordance with district-wide practices. The Union agrees to indemnify and save the Board harmless from any damages or expenses, including attorneys’ fees, which may be incurred by the Board as the result of claims made by any employee relating to this paragraph and any payroll deductions made hereunder.
3.1.2:In making the deductions and transmittals as above specified, the Board shall rely upon the most recent communication from the Union as to the amount of monthly dues and the proper amount of initiation fee. The total amount deducted shall be paid to the Union within thirty (30) calendar days after such a deduction is made.
3:2:Representation Fee
3.2.1:Any employee who is not a member of the Union shall pay a representation fee in lieu of dues for services rendered by the Union. Such representation fee shall be paid and administered pursuant to the requirements of New Jersey law, and shall be paid in an amount equivalent to the regular membership dues, initiation fees and assessments charged by the Union to its own members, less the cost of benefits financed through the dues, fees and assessments and available to or benefiting only its members, but in no event shall such representation fee exceed the legal maximum allowance percentage of the regular membership dues, fees and assessments. The payroll deductions for such representation fees shall be made pursuant to the procedure applicable to the salary deductions described in Section 3.1 above. The Union agrees to indemnify and save the Board harmless from any damages or expenses, including attorneys’ fees, which may be incurred by the Board as the result of claims made by any employee relating to this paragraph and any payroll deductions made hereunder.
3.2.2:If during the life of this agreement there shall be any change in the rate of membership dues, the Union shall furnish to the Board such written notice thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such change.
3.3:Check-Off: Other Procedures
3.3.1:On or about the last day of each month, The Board will submit to the Union a list of all employees who began their employment in the bargaining unit position during the preceding thirty (30) day period. The list will include names, job titles and dates of employment for all such employees.
3.3.2:The Board further agrees to notify the Union in the event Union dues or representation fee for an employee cannot be deducted from the designated salary and the reason therefore.
3.3.3:Teamsters Local 97 shall establish and maintain at all times a demand and return system as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.5 and 5.6, and membership in Teamsters Local 97 shall be available to all employees in the unit on an equal basis at all times. In the event Teamsters Local 97 fails to maintain such a system, or if membership is not so available, the Board shall immediately cease making said deductions.
3.4:Intentionally left blank.
3.5:Any permanent employee in the bargaining unit on the effective date of this Agreement who does not join the Union within thirty (30) days of initial employment within the unit, and any permanent employee previously employed within the union who does not join within ten (10) days of reentry into employment with the unit, shall as a condition of employment, pay a representation fee to the union by automatic payroll deduction. The representation fee shall be in an amount up to eighty-five percent (85%) of the regular Union membership dues, fees and assessments as certified to the Board by the Union.
3.6:The Union may revise its certification of the amount of the representation fee at any time to reflect changes in the regular Union membership dues, fees and assessments. The Union’s entitlement to the representation fee shall continue beyond the termination date of this Agreement so long as the Union remains the majority representative of the employees in the unit, provided that no modification is made in this provision by a successor agreement between the Union and the Board. For the purpose of this provision, employees employed on a ten (10) month basis who are reappointed from year to year shall be considered to be in continuous employment.
ARTICLE 4:EMPLOYER’S RIGHTS
4.1:The Board, subject only to the express provisions of this Agreement, reserves to itself all rights of management of the School District and full jurisdiction and authority over matters of policy, rules, regulations and practices in furtherance thereof and reserves, without limitation, all powers, rights, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred upon and invested in it by the Constitution and Laws of the State of New Jersey and of the United States.
By way of illustration and not by way of limitation of the rights reserved to the Board, are the rights:
To direct employees of the School District;
To hire, assign, promote, transfer and retain employees covered by this Agreement within the School District, and to suspend, demote, discharge, or to take other disciplinary action against employees in accordance with Board policy and the rules and regulations therein;
To relieve employees from duties because of lack of work or other legitimate reasons;
To determine where buses and other Board property will be stored when not in use;
To maintain the thoroughness and efficiency of the School District operations entrusted to it;
To determine the methods, means and personnel by which such operations are to be conducted and to subcontract for goods and services, provided the Board discusses the same beforehand;
To take whatever other actions may be necessary to accomplish the mission of the School District in any situation.
4.2:All current rules, regulations, policies and practices that are terms and conditions of employment shall remain in full force and effect; all monetary issues remain in effect, except as expressly modified by this Agreement.
ARTICLE 5:HOURS OF WORK
5.1.1:The work year shall consist of all days that students on a driver’s route are present, but not less than 180 days between September 1 and June 30.
5.1.2:Contract definitions: regular and non-regularly scheduled runs are defined in Appendix B.
5.2.1:The Board will organize regularly scheduled daily runs into packages, indicating each packages status of eligibility to be put together with a 4:15 late run, and drivers will select such packages prior to the commencement of school in order of seniority, declaring at the time of run picking whether they will be a van or bus driver. Once a vehicle type is declared, any extra work that is picked with the package must be the same type. Within the week prior to run selection, the status of eligibility for the 4:15 late run will be reviewed with the Union Committee. Regular daily runs and packages will be optimized by the Business Administrator and the Transportation Supervisor so as to (a) ensure the most efficient use of the buses (b) enable as many drivers as possible to receive the maximum number of working hours possible (i.e. a maximum of 8 hours and minimum of 5 hours) and (c) ensure that we have adequate coverage and that all students can be transported in a safe and timely manner. Either one midday or one late run will be selected by the driver along with the regular package, and then added to their packages for a total maximum not to exceed 8 hours. Unassigned midday and late runs will be re-offered to drivers by seniority. A driver must work all runs, including midday and late runs, which are part of the package selected by the driver.
5.2.2:An attempt to cover regular scheduled runs, on a temporary daily basis, will be assigned as follows:
1.Permanent Substitutes
2.Contracted Trip Drivers
3.Contracted Non-Trip Drivers
4.Non-Contracted Substitutes
a. up to two (2) runs in the AM
b. up to two (2) runs in the PM
c. no midday, late runs or shuttles unless union drivers are not available.
5.2.3:It has been agreed to by the BOARD and UNION that the following stipulation will be placed upon new drivers that are hired by the BOARD after 6/01/01: When a new position becomes available and a new driver is hired, that said driver applicant is not eligible for a permanent mid-day or late run during a period of six months of contracted employment, or to the end of the school year (if less than six months are left in that school year).
5.2.4:Those drivers employed by the Board prior to July 1, 2013 shall receive five (5) hour packages and shall continue to be entitled to five (5) hour packages during the life of this collective bargaining agreement. Those drivers who commence work in the District on or after July 1, 2013 shall be assigned work packages depending upon the needs of the District and no such employee shall be guaranteed a package for any set duration of time. Those employees who commence work on July 1, 2013 or after and who are assigned less than a five-hour package shall be ineligible for health benefits.
5.3.1:Non-regularly scheduled runs shall be distributed as equally as practicable among the employees qualified and capable of performing the work available. These runs shall be offered to employees in order of seniority on a rotating basis provided they are also trip drivers. Shuttles will be offered to trip drivers by seniority only with NO rotation. After the trip list has been exhausted, non-trip drivers may be used.
5.3.2:Non-regularly scheduled runs, offered to but refused by an employee shall be counted as runs worked for the purpose of determining the equitable distribution of runs.
5.3.3:All educational/field/athletic trips shall be awarded by rotating seniority to contracted trip drivers, using the group picking procedure. All trip drivers will be assigned a group number. When it is time for that group to pick, all trips ultimately assigned to each driver by the dispatcher must be done. Refusal of assigned trip will be chargeable. In the event that there are too many driver absences for whatever reason, the dispatcher and supervisor reserve the right to withdraw trips from contracted drivers in order to have adequate run coverage. A withdrawn trip will be considered a cancelled trip and the driver will receive a make-up trip.
5.4.1:A review of the distribution of field, educational and athletic trips shall be conducted monthly by the Shop Steward and then posted in the driver’s lounge, any problems will be discussed with the Transportation Supervisor.
5.5.1:The Union and the Board agree that in the event that the Board must make an Athletic, Educational or Field trip assignment with less than three (3) working day’s notice, such trip assignment will be permitted and will be considered an emergency. After the trip list is exhausted, any available union driver may then be asked to carry out this run. Extreme emergency situations will be assigned to any available union driver, provided the list is followed, if possible, than offered to any driver available.
5.5.2:All union representatives who refuse a trip due to a scheduled meeting with an Administrator, Board or Supervisor, or any other person representing the Board will receive a make-up trip.
5.6.1:Van drivers hours of work for their regularly scheduled runs will be calculated the same as the bus drivers, except for Out of District and Pre-School routes which will continue to bebased on the actual time of the route as indicated on the route package.
5.7.1:Bus drivers cover bus driver’s runs, van drivers cover van driver’s runs. When all van drivers are busy and van work needs to be done, then, and only then, is it offered to bus drivers. Also, qualified van drivers may drive bus driver’s runs when no other bus drivers are available.
5.7.2:Athletic/Educational/Field trips that fall during any recess of 3 or more consecutive school days will be posted prior to the recess and will be rotated among the trip drivers signed up to cover during that time. These trips will not be subject to the normal trip assignment rules and will not be included in the total number of trips for each driver. Assignment of these trips will be by the dispatcher and will be by seniority in rotation. Any trip that cannot be covered by the assigned driver may be swapped with the next driver in rotation as long as both drivers agree. If this cannot be done, the trip will be offered to the next driver in rotation on the list with no make-up trip.
5.7.3An extra 15 minutes will be added to trip time for the unlocking/locking gate and key box.
ARTICLE 6:SENIORITY
6.1.1:Seniority is defined as the continuous length of service within the District. Such service will be calculated from the date of hire, as evidenced by the Board of Education minutes. For purposes of picking runs, new driver’s seniority is calculated by the order of recommendation to the Board for the August meeting, which generally occurs after the picking of runs.
6.1.2:The Board shall establish and maintain a seniority list of employees. The Transportation Supervisor shall revise the list annually and post it at the start of each school year.
6.1.3:An employee shall lose seniority rights for any of the following reasons:
if an employee quits; or
is discharged for proper cause; or
does not return to work in seventy-two (72) hours when recalled unless excused for illness or other valid reasons; or
is absent for two (2) or more consecutive days or shifts without notifying the Transportation Supervisor or other superior, unless the employee can establish that it was impossible to so notify the Transportation Supervisor or other superior; or
is laid off for at least twelve (12) months; or
leaves the bargaining unit for a period of at least three (3) months to accept jobs excluded from the bargaining unit.
6.2.1:In the event of a layoff, the Board agrees to apply seniority in determining who will be laid off.
6.3.1:Request for a change in assignment (bus to van or van to bus) may be made within the period of time a position is posted or by June 30th for the next school year. Such changes will only be made when positions become available. Seniority and qualification will be factors in the selection of a driver to fill a position.
ARTICLE 7.LAY-OFF AND RECALL PROCEDURES
7.1.1:Any driver, who could be subject to lay-off, shall receive thirty (30) days notice, whenever feasible.