Bargaining Help: NSEA Offers Expert Guidance to Resolve Bargaining Table Confusion

Waverly Transportation Association (WTA) member Steve Davison is usually up by 4 a.m. to prepare for his full-time job. He works at that job until 3 p.m. and by 3:30 p.m. he's already clocked in at the Waverly Student Transportation building for a pre-trip check of his bus.

A Good Gig
“I have a small route that I'm delegated to every day, but sometimes they combine that route with another route, if need be, because I'm also a sub for every route,” Davison said.

Davison's full-time job schedule is nine days on, then five days off. During his days off, he will sometimes pick up morning shifts to help get Waverly Public Schools students to school.

“It’s a good gig. I’m hoping when I retire from my current full-time job, I can drive full-time for our Waverly Public Schools,” he said.

Davison is also the lead negotiator for bus drivers at WTA. He and Waverly Transportation Association President Billie Trouba have been negotiating with the school district for years to improve working conditions, compensation and benefits for their drivers. The local association has a long history of bargaining contracts for its members.

Trouba is a 29-year veteran bus driver and played an important part in organizing drivers to form the WTA.

“I was at a school board meeting where they were approving raises for other staff, but bus drivers hadn't had a raise in three years,” Trouba said. “We were invited to learn more about how NSEA could help us bargain.”

Now retired NSEA Organizational Specialist Tom Martin talked with the drivers.

“I remember looking around the room and many drivers were nodding their heads as Martin spoke,” said Trouba. “With his help, we organized to form the Waverly Transportation Association.”

In their first attempt at negotiating a contract, school board members wouldn't recognize WTA as a bargaining unit. So, Martin took members through the process to attain permanent certification status with the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations (CIR) and WTA won recognition as the permanent bargaining agent for its members.

Bargaining Table Confusion
In February, Davison and Trouba prepared for negotiations earlier than usual at the request of the school superintendent.

“Billie and I were cool with it. We talked to our members, set some goals for negotiations, and scheduled a date for a first round of negotiations,” explained Davison.

The district and WTA traded proposals and agreed to meet again for a second round of negotiations.

“When we came back for another meeting, we were told that we couldn’t legally be negotiating because they said we didn't submit the two-year recognition letter like the teachers do,” said Davison. “And I said, ‘We don't have to do that.’ The two school district reps were pretty new to the district and they had paperwork from their attorney. At that point, I knew we needed to get NSEA involved.”

NSEA Archives
Davison and Trouba contacted their NSEA Organizational Specialist Teresa Matthews.

“Because WTA has permanent certification, it can skip the formal request process and instead collaborate directly with the district to schedule dates for the start of bargaining,” said Matthews. “NSEA has a long history of helping locals navigate CIR requirements for permanent certification in elections.”

Matthews and NSEA staff hit the NSEA archives to help track down all of the documentation from WTA’s 2002 certification vote that won CIR designation as the permanent bargaining agent.  NSEA helped Davison and Trouba draft a response to the school district to clear up confusion about permanent certificated units.

“We presented the paperwork to them, and they took it back to their attorney to look over,” Davison said. “It took awhile for them to get their ducks in a row and meet us back at the table but when they did, we shook hands and moved forward.”

Membership and Bargaining
Davison and Trouba have set some long-term bargaining goals for WTA and have worked to build membership and grow their local association.

“Long-term priorities would include insurance and paid days off—especially snow days,” said Davison. “Drivers rely on a set number of workdays, and missing a day due to weather means missing income. Many of these drivers depend heavily on each paycheck, so having a few paid snow days would provide stability. Currently, if you miss a day, you don’t get paid. Working to secure snow days along with insurance benefits would make a big difference.”

It would also benefit the district. Many school districts across the state struggle to find and keep qualified school bus drivers.

NSEA helps guide local associations through the negotiations process. NSEA also maintains a file of current contracts from around the state that can be used as a resource for both language and negotiable items. If negotiations slow or threaten to stall, NSEA offers a variety of dispute-resolution options including fact-finding, mediation and petitioning the CIR.

Contact your NSEA Organizational Specialist with questions or for more information.