YOU BE THE ARBITRATOR School Bus Drivers ARTICLE VII ARTICLE XXXI MANAGEMENT RIGHTS, ITEM E TRANSPORTATION, PARAGRAPH H Maintain the efficiency of operations in the New All field trips shall be offered on the basis of Lebanon School District and the personnel by seniority rotation as follows: which such operations shall be carried out. 1. There shall be two rotation lists made containing the names of all drivers in order of their seniority ARTICLE VII (those drivers only desiring to take field trips). the MANAGEMENT RIGHTS, ITEM F most senior driver being No. 1. One list will consist of daytime trips; the other after school and Exercise any other power or prerogative given it weekend trips. under the Revised Code of the State of Ohio or 2. The first trip of the school year shall be assigned any reasonable inference to be therefrom. to driver 1. The second being assigned to driver 2Negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement and so on. Driver 1 shall not be eligible for school district. At the completion of the field trip, another field trip until all the remaining drivers the same driver or an alternate driver may be have had an opportunity to take a field trip on assigned to pick up these participants and return each individual rotation list. to the school district; the driver being paid for the 3. If more than one field trip is offered on Monday time needed to accomplish this. (or whatever day), driver who is up for the next 11. Summer Field Trips/Summer School-For the trip on the seniority list may have their choice of purpose of determining the rate of pay, a field trips; next drivers will have the same option summer field trip is defined as transporting until all trips have been exhausted students with a teacher/advisor/designce in 4. Any driver becoming eligible may have the charge, and the driver of this trip will be paid option to refuse the trip to be passed over in favor FIELD-TRIP RATE. Summer school trans- of the less senior driver. However, the driver portation is defined as transporting students to a refusing shall not be eligible again until the school or designated area where the driver has rotation is complete. There will be no trading of the same responsibility as transporting students field trips. to school during the regular school day (no 5. Field trips shall be assigned to regular classified adviser/coach/designce in charge), and the bus drivers only. In the event that the rotation has driver of this trip will be paid the REGULAR been exhausted and no regular drivers are DRIVING RATE for which they are employed. available, the substitute drivers shall be permitted to take field trips. 6. Only classified bus drivers that are contract Facts drivers with the Board shall be assigned to any The employer is a public school district. In the past, the route or extra trips. superintendent of the district had used his private van to 7. When a field trip requires early departure and transport students to sporting events. After the district last all day or overnight, regular school bus purchased a van, the school van was used to transport drivers will have the option of taking the trip. students to sporting events. The union grieved the use of the The school bus drivers will drive their own bus van because the school bus drivers were not being used to on the trip or the best available. The Supervisor drive the van, and the collective bargaining agreement may assign any bus from the fleet to a field trip (CBA) required the school bus drivers to drive students on which is more than 100 miles one way. The any field trips. regular bus drivers will relinquish their regular pay rate for the field-trip rate. Field trips will stay Issue on the same rotation basis. 8. If drivers have a field trip canceled, they will be Did the employer violate its CBA that requires school bus offered the first field trip from the same list (ei- drivers to transport students on field trips when it did not ther day or after school) as long as they do not require them to transport students to sporting events? have another field trip assigned. Should they al- ready have a field trip assigned, they will be of- Position of the Parties fered the next field trip available. Receiving the The school district's position was that the CBA's manage- makeup trip cannot cause one to lose a trip from ment rights clause gave the superintendent the authority to the normal list. determine what vehicles to use to transport students when 9. Every effort will be made to provide drivers with the trip is not a field trip. If the superintendent does not a gas card to those assigned field trips that are determine that a school bus should be used, then the CBA's beyond a 100-mile round trip. provision is not applicable. The CBA does not define "field 10. When a field trip is available and after exhausting trip." so "field trip" is defined in the school district's policy the regular rotation field trip list and substitute is "any planned journey by one or more students away list, that trip becomes an "emergency field trip" from district premises, which is under the supervision of a situation. Under the earlier stated guidelines, professional staff member and an integral part of a course regular and/or substitute bus drivers may take the of study." Under the district's definition, no sporting or participants to the field trip event and return to the after-school trip is a field trip.Negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement The union's position was that the drivers should be QUESTIONS assigned to drive the van whenever school trips are being taken. Even though the CBA does not define "field trip." 1. As arbitrator, what would be your award and opinion the union does not accept the use of the definition in the in this arbitration? district's policy or the narrow reading of the term "field 2. Identify the key, relevant section(s), phrases, or words trip." Any trip taken under the auspices of the district is a of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and field trip for purposes of the CBA. explain why they were critical in making your decision. 3. What actions might the employer and/or the union Source: Adapted from New Lebanon Local Bd of Ed., 114 LA 952 (Arb. have taken to avoid this conflict? 2000)