Group calls for bus drivers fired in sickout to be rehired

As many as eight dismissed after 700 don’t show for work.

About two dozen DeKalb County school bus drivers and parents have asked Superintendent Steve Green to reinstate at least seven drivers fired for the sickout last week.

About 700 drivers were absent April 19, 20 and 23 as drivers called in sick to bring attention to their pleas for better pay and treatment.

School police officers delivered termination letters to seven drivers the evening of April 19. Drivers say at least one other driver was fired for promoting the slowdown.

”The letter explicitly states that they’re being fired for encouraging or promoting a sickout, which is a violation of their free-speech rights as well as the rights of drivers to act collectively to improve their conditions,” said Brandon Oliver of the

General Defense Committee

Atlanta branch of the General Defense Committee, which advocates for collective bargaining rights, among other things.

Oliver said the driver sickout was part of a larger movement of education workers across the country seeking better conditions for themselves and students, after years of underfunding.

In February, Gov. Nathan Deal pushed to end a school funding deficit after more than a decade of austerity cuts. For transportation, state funding once covered half of districts’ costs; now, the state covers about 15 percent.

Melanie Douglas, a bus driver fired last week, said other drivers are scared. She said Green “used a bullying tactic to get people back to work.”

Noting Green’s remark that drivers are the first and last school employees to see students daily, she said efforts should be made to address drivers’ pay concerns. “For some households, this is the only money coming in.”

‘The letter ... states they’re being fired for encouraging ... a sickout.’ Brandon Oliver