Fresno school bus drivers rally against workplace harassment, wage theft

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Dozens of section schoolhouse autobus drivers rallied successful Fresno Monday.

They enactment for First Student, a institution contracted by schoolhouse districts each implicit the Central Valley.

“We emotion what we do. We emotion our kids. We bash it regular due to the fact that we cognize it makes a existent quality successful the lives of the families we serve,” operator Jicole Paul said.

They accidental their occupation is to marque definite kids get to schoolhouse safely, but they consciousness unsafe connected the job.

Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) impeach First Student of turning a unsighted oculus to intersexual harassment and wage theft.

One driver, Monica Apodaca, says her intersexual harassment assertion was ignored.

“Who tin we spot if we can't crook to anyone astatine First Student to guarantee our safety? I was a unfortunate of intersexual harassment by our state-certified trainer and determination ambassador. When I reported him to our determination manager, I mislaid my hard-earned promotion and was fixed a antagonistic evaluation, to which helium was a portion of,” Apodaca said.

SEIU Local 521 Chief Elected Officer Riko Mendez says they are besides investigating galore claims of wage theft.

“Things similar having to pump state without being reimbursed, trainings that they're being required to travel to wherever they're not being paid. There's astir 13 antithetic categories of wage theft that we've discovered truthful far, and there's much growing,” Mendez said.

Union representatives accidental they person met with First Student to code the complaints, but they accidental the institution denies the allegations.

YourCentralValley.com reached retired to First Student for their broadside but did not perceive back.

Fresno City representatives are besides investigating the claims, and accidental they instrumentality them seriously.

“When you person allegations of intersexual harassment, of wage theft, of unsafe moving conditions, that, to me, is simply a large reddish flag. So we're asking First Student to enactment students first, travel to the table, enactment with our moving men and women, and travel up with a bully program that addresses the needs and the issues that we've talked about,” District 5 City Councilman Luis Chavez said.

District 4 Councilman Tyler Maxwell says helium volition besides articulation the national representatives successful pressuring the institution for a solution.

“We're looking astatine this lawsuit precise intimately and we're going to enactment with our working-class men and women present to marque definite that this benignant of worldly ne'er happens again,” Maxwell said.

The national says their adjacent measurement is to conscionable with supporters from the metropolis and Fresno Unified School District to sermon their ineligible options.