WS Chronicle

After about 20% of all bus drivers that work for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) went on strike last week, they’ve reached an agreement with district leaders and are heading back to work. 

Here’s what we know: The strike began on Monday, Nov. 25, when about 23 bus drivers called out, affecting about 60 different routes across the district. On Tuesday, Nov. 26, 36 drivers called out, affecting about 126 routes. 

While many of the drivers are demanding an increase in pay, a bigger issue for some is the behavior on the bus. Drivers have said on almost a daily basis they have to deal with vulgar and disrespectful language, fights, and illegal substance use.

Jamie Hairston, who has over 30 years of experience driving for the district, said she decided to go from fulltime to part-time when the job became too stressful a few years ago. “When I first started it was an enjoyable job, but as time went on and the behavior just kept getting worse, I just couldn’t do it full time anymore,” she said. 

Hairston said after they report discipline problems, students are usually just sent to ISS (In-School Suspension) but they were still allowed on the bus. According to Hairston, when she first started with the district, after three disciplinary write-ups, students were removed from the bus. Hairston said she believes that rule should’ve never changed. 

“If they’re bad and disrespectful, take them off the bus. These parents need to start being inconvenienced,” Hairston continued. “It’s really unsafe because when you’re driving the bus, you have to worry about the traffic and other drivers. So when you have to deal with fights and students who won’t listen, it makes it unsafe for everybody.”

In addition to having to deal with disrespectful students, several drivers have reported run-ins with parents as well. On Oct. 22, a bus driver was assaulted by an adult resulting in minor injuries. The local police department is looking into the altercation but no arrests have been made. Hairston said she’s had to deal with parents as well, and has even been threatened by a parent at a bus stop. 

“I’ve been threatened by parents and I’ve had students tell me they were going to get their parents to beat me up … it’s all just too much,” Hairston said.

On Monday, Dec. 2, which was Day Three of the strike, Superintendent Tricia McManus and other district leaders met with about 14 different bus drivers, including members of the bus driver advocacy group. 

According to Tricia McManus, district leaders met with drivers to listen and discuss the plans for the future. Next month the district plans to roll out new consequences for students who misbehave on the bus, new expectations for drivers and parents, and more improved lines of communication for drivers. 

Following the meeting, McManus held a press conference where she announced that the drivers had agreed to return to work. 

“The meeting ended with us in agreement with the actions we have outlined and it now gives us a chance to execute on those actions, as well as a way to immediately get their concerns addressed,” McManus continued. “We are looking forward to a new day and allowing us a chance to actually implement plans that we have outlined with them. Today just gave us even more information that we needed to make sure that the actions we’re designing are the right ones.”

District leaders will hold another meeting with all bus drivers in the district sometime next week. 

This is a developing story and updates will be made as new information becomes available.