MEMBER FOCUS
$1.1 million settlement
After eight years of litigation, a major settlement has been reached in favor of CSEA against the Bellflower School District (BUSD). This case began in 2014 when CSEA members working as school bus drivers at BUSD were wrongfully terminated and had their jobs subcontracted out.
CSEA attorneys filed suit on behalf of the affected members based on the fact that CSEA has a statutory right to bargain over subcontracting jobs that would be otherwise staffed by CSEA members. Under the Educational Employment Relations Act, an employer’s decision to subcontract work is a mandatory subject of bargaining, and a failure to bargain before subcontracting is deemed an unfair labor practice.
Some of the plaintiffs, many who never thought they’d see this day, share their experiences with employer labor violations and the unjust practice of school districts subcontracting classified jobs.
Subcontracting Jobs v. Commitment to Employees
Treenitta Harber currently drives for the Downey Unified School District. She is a member of Downey Chapter 746.
With a career spanning 35 years and three school districts in Southern California, Treenita Harber’s commitment to student safety has always been something she holds dear to her heart.
“I've been doing this since I was 20 years old, and I've loved it since day one. The students, you know, some of them are unruly but that just comes with the territory,” said Harber, a school bus driver from Downey Chapter 746.
“At the end of the day I love everything about it. I love learning how to drive these big old buses and I just enjoy it.”
So, in 2014 when Harber’s job position with the Bellflower Unified School District (BUSD) was terminated and later subcontracted out, she didn’t know how her former employer could trust a subcontractor who hadn’t proved the same commitment to safety as she did over 11 years.
“You had drivers who were there for over 25 years and were very loyal,” Harber said. “You don’t find that type of loyalty a lot because there’s always turnover of drivers every year. I really tried to stress that to the district.”
Harber’s unexpected layoff at BUSD forced her to find new employment on short notice. For the next six months she drove for the Fullerton Unified School District (FUSD), 15 miles east of Bellflower.
After dealing with the stress of being unlawfully laid off and having to uproot herself to work in unfamiliar surroundings, Harber decided to leave FUSD to drive for the Bassett Unified School District, 13.5 miles north of Fullerton.
Unfortunately, Harber did not make it past her probation at Bassett Unified and was unemployed for a short spell before finally landing at Downey Unified School District, where she now calls home.
“It was very emotional, very tiring,” Harber admitted.
CSEA Takes Legal Action
Dewander White is currently a coach operator for Long Beach Transit. She is a former member of Bellflower Chapter 32.
Just like Harber, nine other CSEA-affiliated BUSD drivers also never fathomed the thought of losing their jobs to contracting.
Dewander “Didi” White, a former member of Bellflower Chapter 32, was going through a divorce with her ex-husband of 17 years around 2014. And with a mortgage to pay and two daughters in college, requesting legal representation through CSEA seemed to be the only viable option she had left.
“It all started when BUSD let all ten of us drivers go after giving us reinstatement letters to return the next school year,” said White, who was one of 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit and now works as a coach operator for Long Beach Transit.
“But when we were off that summer, BUSD sent us termination letters instead. That’s when we all went together to CSEA and started a wrongful termination lawsuit against BUSD.”
In keeping true to CSEA’s commitment against the outsourcing of classified jobs, CSEA attorneys took legal action by filing an unfair practice charge against BUSD with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) on August 22, 2014.
What followed was a course of events that involved back-and-forth litigation, including numerous court appearances, appeals, compliance orders, and even a cease-and-desist order against the school board.
“What motivated me to take action against the district was the drivers who had been with the district for over 30 years,” said White. “They had planned to retire from there. It was unfair for them to be let go that way.”
One of the advantages of CSEA membership is access to legal representation. Throughout this legal case, the plaintiffs have not had to pay lawyer fees of any kind – their CSEA membership was all that was needed.
Union Jobs for Union Workers
Nikki Herrera, former member of Bellflower Chapter 32, is now a retired bus driver.
Before public discourse on the need to fill school vacancies began surfacing during the pandemic, school districts across California had already turned to subcontracting classified jobs, citing budgetary reasons and the lack of applicants.
However, CSEA has always held fast to the belief that classified jobs should remain in the public sector, open to candidates from the community and, of course, existing staff who best understand the needs of their schools and are motivated to act in the interests of their students.
“These temp drivers go from one company to another to get the money they want. They chase the money,” Harber said. “But for me, I don’t do that, especially because I’ve been driving for so long. You have to think about the kids with wheelchairs and special needs. It’s not all about the money, you have to have a heart too.”
When a district outsources jobs, they rely on temporary workers outside of the bargaining unit. Not only is such a move motivated by cutting costs and eliminating quality classified jobs, but it is a short-term solution to a long-term district financial mismanagement problem.
Nikki Herrera, a retired bus driver and former member of Bellflower Chapter 32, joined the lawsuit. After spending decades with BUSD, Herrera unfortunately never returned to driving for the district again, opting to drive buses for a church school to make ends meet.
“All the bus drivers were laid off unfairly, so my motivation in joining the lawsuit against BUSD was to get my job back,” said Herrera. “But once it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, I had to move on.”
For Herrera, the last eight years has not gone according to plan. She ended up retiring before a settlement was reached. But as the lawsuit ultimately unfolded and reached a settlement in her favor, she made sure to recognize the efforts of CSEA attorneys who never left her side.
“CSEA’s lawyers stuck with us throughout the years, and for that I strongly support union jobs and CSEA. If it wasn’t for CSEA, this settlement wouldn’t have happened.,” said Herrera.
“I hope nobody has to go through what we went through. But if they do, CSEA will be there with them every step, even if it does take eight years.”
Legal Resources
One of the major benefits of CSEA membership is access to legal assistance and representation. CSEA attorneys are committed to making sure members’ rights are protected under the law.
- Obtain a referral to an attorney who will provide a free consultation and may also offer a discount to CSEA members. Call the CSEA Legal Referral Line at (800) 632-2128, ext. 1274
- Need to hire an attorney? Because you’re a union member, you can get free access to basic legal help or upgrade to a higher level of premium legal services for a low monthly fee.
After eight years of litigation, a major settlement has been reached in favor of CSEA against the Bellflower School District (BUSD). This case began in 2014 when CSEA members working as school bus drivers at BUSD were wrongfully terminated and had their jobs subcontracted out.
CSEA attorneys filed suit on behalf of the affected members based on the fact that CSEA has a statutory right to bargain over subcontracting jobs that would be otherwise staffed by CSEA members. Under the Educational Employment Relations Act, an employer’s decision to subcontract work is a mandatory subject of bargaining, and a failure to bargain before subcontracting is deemed an unfair labor practice.
Some of the plaintiffs, many who never thought they’d see this day, share their experiences with employer labor violations and the unjust practice of school districts subcontracting classified jobs.
Treenitta Harber currently drives for the Downey Unified School District. She is a member of Downey Chapter 746.
Subcontracting Jobs v. Commitment to Employees
With a career spanning 35 years and three school districts in Southern California, Treenita Harber’s commitment to student safety has always been something she holds dear to her heart.
“I've been doing this since I was 20 years old, and I've loved it since day one. The students, you know, some of them are unruly but that just comes with the territory,” said Harber, a school bus driver from Downey Chapter 746.
“At the end of the day I love everything about it. I love learning how to drive these big old buses and I just enjoy it.”
So, in 2014 when Harber’s job position with the Bellflower Unified School District (BUSD) was terminated and later subcontracted out, she didn’t know how her former employer could trust a subcontractor who hadn’t proved the same commitment to safety as she did over 11 years.
“You had drivers who were there for over 25 years and were very loyal,” Harber said. “You don’t find that type of loyalty a lot because there’s always turnover of drivers every year. I really tried to stress that to the district.”
Harber’s unexpected layoff at BUSD forced her to find new employment on short notice. For the next six months she drove for the Fullerton Unified School District (FUSD), 15 miles east of Bellflower.
After dealing with the stress of being unlawfully laid off and having to uproot herself to work in unfamiliar surroundings, Harber decided to leave FUSD to drive for the Bassett Unified School District, 13.5 miles north of Fullerton.
Unfortunately, Harber did not make it past her probation at Bassett Unified and was unemployed for a short spell before finally landing at Downey Unified School District, where she now calls home.
“It was very emotional, very tiring,” Harber admitted.
CSEA Takes Legal Action
Just like Harber, nine other CSEA-affiliated BUSD drivers also never fathomed the thought of losing their jobs to contracting.
Dewander “Didi” White, a former member of Bellflower Chapter 32, was going through a divorce with her ex-husband of 17 years around 2014. And with a mortgage to pay and two daughters in college, requesting legal representation through CSEA seemed to be the only viable option she had left.
“It all started when BUSD let all ten of us drivers go after giving us reinstatement letters to return the next school year,” said White, who was one of 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit and now works as a coach operator for Long Beach Transit.
“But when we were off that summer, BUSD sent us termination letters instead. That’s when we all went together to CSEA and started a wrongful termination lawsuit against BUSD.”
Dewander White is currently a coach operator for Long Beach Transit. She is a former member of Bellflower Chapter 32.
In keeping true to CSEA’s commitment against the outsourcing of classified jobs, CSEA attorneys took legal action by filing an unfair practice charge against BUSD with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) on August 22, 2014.
What followed was a course of events that involved back-and-forth litigation, including numerous court appearances, appeals, compliance orders, and even a cease-and-desist order against the school board.
“What motivated me to take action against the district was the drivers who had been with the district for over 30 years,” said White. “They had planned to retire from there. It was unfair for them to be let go that way.”
One of the advantages of CSEA membership is access to legal representation. Throughout this legal case, the plaintiffs have not had to pay lawyer fees of any kind – their CSEA membership was all that was needed.
Nikki Herrera, former member of Bellflower Chapter 32, is now a retired bus driver.
Union Jobs for Union Workers
Before public discourse on the need to fill school vacancies began surfacing during the pandemic, school districts across California had already turned to subcontracting classified jobs, citing budgetary reasons and the lack of applicants.
However, CSEA has always held fast to the belief that classified jobs should remain in the public sector, open to candidates from the community and, of course, existing staff who best understand the needs of their schools and are motivated to act in the interests of their students.
“These temp drivers go from one company to another to get the money they want. They chase the money,” Harber said. “But for me, I don’t do that, especially because I’ve been driving for so long. You have to think about the kids with wheelchairs and special needs. It’s not all about the money, you have to have a heart too.”
When a district outsources jobs, they rely on temporary workers outside of the bargaining unit. Not only is such a move motivated by cutting costs and eliminating quality classified jobs, but it is a short-term solution to a long-term district financial mismanagement problem.
Nikki Herrera, a retired bus driver and former member of Bellflower Chapter 32, joined the lawsuit. After spending decades with BUSD, Herrera unfortunately never returned to driving for the district again, opting to drive buses for a church school to make ends meet.
“All the bus drivers were laid off unfairly, so my motivation in joining the lawsuit against BUSD was to get my job back,” said Herrera. “But once it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, I had to move on.”
For Herrera, the last eight years has not gone according to plan. She ended up retiring before a settlement was reached. But as the lawsuit ultimately unfolded and reached a settlement in her favor, she made sure to recognize the efforts of CSEA attorneys who never left her side.
“CSEA’s lawyers stuck with us throughout the years, and for that I strongly support union jobs and CSEA. If it wasn’t for CSEA, this settlement wouldn’t have happened.,” said Herrera.
“I hope nobody has to go through what we went through. But if they do, CSEA will be there with them every step, even if it does take eight years.”
Legal Resources
One of the major benefits of CSEA membership is access to legal assistance and representation. CSEA attorneys are committed to making sure members’ rights are protected under the law.
- Obtain a referral to an attorney who will provide a free consultation and may also offer a discount to CSEA members. Call the CSEA Legal Referral Line at (800) 632-2128, ext. 1274
- Need to hire an attorney? Because you’re a union member, you can get free access to basic legal help or upgrade to a higher level of premium legal services for a low monthly fee.
