~ So five years ago I was all nerves because my husband got hurt at work. He needed intensive rehab with a prognosis of up to about two years. I owned and operated a consignment shop for 6 years with no other recent job history. I put applications in everywhere with not a whole lot of hope. My friend convinced me to put my application in as a school bus driver. I studied my ass off to pass the six computer tests I needed to get my permit.
When my training started it was really a pisser. The trainer had never been trained to be one. There was originally six of us some came before me and a couple after. Three men and three women. On the first day (before even getting my permit) she had us each drive the bus around the parking lot, in and around the other buses. This should of been my first clue. Anyway I think the trainer was sleeping with one of the guys, lets call him "the heckler". Every time one of us made a mistake in the training he made loud buzzer noises and yelled " fail!" They spent hours of our trainings talking about her catholic school girl uniform and how it still fit! wth. That guy didn't get anywhere because he had several drug charges in another state. He really thought he could schmooze her and let it slide.
The trainer got suspended because of a nasty facebook post she made. One of the big wig ladies who actually makes the regulations and tests the drivers on the physical exam received it. She posted " it's only 7am and these whiny little see you next tuesdays are making me want a drink! They're so stupid i'd rather be teaching kindergarten. " One of the girls quit shortly after that, she couldn't take the constant heckling and lack of direct support. The trainer told her and I once that she had to take care of some stuff for her daughter signing up for college. For us to go take the bus and learn how to parallel park it ourselves!
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My boss was one of the only reasons I plugged on. He gave some of the trainees the cash to take the tests for their permits. They were on unemployment and trying to make ends meet. He consistently worked out kinks between employees, made the work environment a great place to be. He made us breakfasts to reward good attendance and safe driving, got bucket loads of iced lemonade on extra hot days. He would start the buses on cold days for the drivers who had to leave really early so they didn't freeze. He planned and drove family bus trips for everyone. He isn't a nit picker but he always listened to and addressed anything that came across his desk from any employee.
We lost part of a state contract and our small yard closed two years after I got my license. I hung on until the bitter end but I had to transfer to another yard. I became part of their family {slowly because I tended to work everywhere but there because I made more money traveling} for the next two years.
In the my old boss called me on several occasions to help him with random bus things. I'm a worker and always have been. While I worked at my "new" yard I became "the Untrainer". I spent time with each newly licensed driver, transfers from other yards & former truck drivers turned bus driver. I refused several peer pressure points to be a trainer. However I want to start a business where I can one on one teach people to drive. I would need the summers off and trainers work all year.
I drove several trips for my old boss when he started his own bus company. Even tho I was pretty sure the buses were not registered or insured. Cash is king and I was well paid. Then the incident with my sister happened. My sister was hired as a monitor on a special needs van. When the driver went on vacation my old boss had her drive the van. She was given no commercial vehicle training or professional training of any kind. One day she was leaving her house and she backed into a new dodge challenger. When the police arrived, the van wasn't registered or insured! She was rebuffed with her phone calls for information, being left hanging right up until her court date. She was there for driving an unregistered uninsured vehicle. She's a single mom and recovering addict clean for almost 5years.
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My old boss came through on the day with proof somehow. But in the meantime she had been fired from her position at his company. The business partner is a mean, nasty woman. She was filling in for my sister in the van when my sister had to fill in on another van run. The business partner antagonized one of the behavioral students until they completely lost it. Then she banned him from the bus and his parent had to drive him. When my sister was on the other van run she told the driver what had happened to her. She warned the other driver to check the van credentials and sure enough it wasn't registered or insured. When my sister returned to her own bus days later she and the driver informed the parent that his disruptive behavior wasn't his fault. When they got back that day they were both terminated.
Anywhoooo, my old boss took over a yard not so far from my house with a different company than I worked for. He offered me a substantial raise and a $5000 bonus to change companies. So I did. When I was in the application phase He introduced me to his boss. He told him I would be a good candidate for the trainer position. The funny part was that I actually took the compliment and was actually considering the position. Since my class for the driver training was cancelled only a couple hours before it was to begin. I would have done it because I thought my old boss needed me to. A couple weeks later another girl who worked with him when I was at the last new yard showed up as the new trainer. I felt slighted, then hurt as the other spare drivers were used as trainers too.
Then comes the day our dispatcher died. There was no posting of the position, just the "girl" transitioned into that office. I am unsure of any other existing relationship between the two. I started to become bitter and to nit pick everything that went on there as a personal affront to myself. Anger, frustration and whatever else I was hurt. I bitched every day on the bus to my monitor. Who was also a driver in training with our dispatcher trainer. I really held no ill will or negativity towards her personally. But my feelings were hurt and I was venting.
On top of all this there is a union change of management in progress. "the girl" helped to push through the new contract which had little improvements over the last one. All of us new employees didn't get to put our two cents in nor did we know what we gave up for the little we gained. "the girl" gave one of the employees a book of union practices. She bragged about what a good negotiator he is and that he knows his stuff...to all who would listen. In the weeks before the election he was given three of the trips I was awarded. I was told that it was a mix up. He also had several other trips before that one. We revolve around a seniority list that apparently is broken. Obviously to someone like me who was already feeling slighted this looks like a rigged system. Favor the future leader of the union.
The guy won btw. I'm fending off animosity from "the girl' I think she watched the tape from the bus, to see if there were any areas the driver in training that needed fine tuning. Or my monitor who was the only person I vented to who I thought I could trust spilled her guts about my rants. I want to clarify again that I don't hate this girl or anything. I just hate the circumstances surrounding her. The things that also revolve around me. Which most of this only applies to my stupid feelings really and not me exactly directly. She called me into her new office and asked me if I had a problem with her. I said no and I explained some of this. She also asked if I had a problem with her being in that office. I said that I kind of did and so did most of the yard. Since the position wasn't' posted, the position is supposed to be corporate. She seems in the bosses pocket but she's a voting union member. I feel that I couldn't complain if I wanted to now. She tried to tell me that she doesn't get paid for half the stuff that she does. That she's just helping the boss. That she would rather work at a yard closer to her home. Whatever. I mended fences, but we don't trust each other as far as we can throw each other.