Labor, parents support special needs children

Shop stewards, who are members of Amalgamated Transit Local 1181-1061, showed solidarity with parents of special needs children on Nov. 18. The stewards, who are from two New York City school bus companies, attended the Citywide Council on Special Education meeting that evening.

Parents to Improve School Transportation invited the union stewards who joined parents, school staff members and disability advocates in confronting the guest speaker at the CCSE meeting, Matt Berlin, who is the director of the Office of Pupil Transportation.

PIST has been organizing against the denial of educational rights to thousands of children who are placed on bus routes that make them miss many hours of instruction and needed therapies.

The bus driver representatives explained that OPT sets up the overcrowded buses by routinely cutting more than 300 routes at the start of each school year. Then OPT waits until there are complaints and new students are enrolled before restoring the appropriate number of routes.

Each driver described ways that management puts them in an unfair position where they have to follow the written route, instead of doing what they know is sensible and kind to the children — or else they risk expensive fines.

The community appreciated their presence. For more information, visit www.pistnyc.org.