RICHMOND, Va. — Tuesday evening, several Richmond Public Schools union members spoke out in favor of bus drivers after five of them were let go.
On April 8, five bus drivers called out from their normal routes to protest a new proposal by RPS to change the way overtime pay would be handled. On April 25, all five were let go.
CBS 6 spoke to Kimya Williams, who was one of the drivers the district let go. She said that the last few weeks have been nothing short of disheartening.
"It's heartbreaking that you would take a senior driver and rip her from her run," Williams said. "I'm on the committee, and I speak every month at the school board meeting. So why was April the 8th so different?"
Bus drivers were protesting a proposal that would pay drivers for actual time worked for after school activity routes as opposed to an automatic two hours of work.
The union has argued the automatic two hour pay incentivizes drivers to take after school routes.
However, RPS has said that some of the routes don't actually take up two full hours and the division needs to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.
In an email to a parent obtained by CBS 6, Superintendent Jason Kamras said that while the school fully supports workers and first amendment rights, the driver's decision to call out on April 8 led to most after school activities being canceled, leaving thousands of students without programming, and parents to scramble to find alternative plans.
He added that the act falls within the school system's prohibited conduct and "violates their obligation to serve and protect students above all else."
In 2024, CBS 6 investigative reporter Tyler Layne did a deep dive on the school board's auditor claiming the district was paying drivers overtime for hours they're not working. Click here to access that report.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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