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Operator Volume 52 Issue 5 • June 2022
Inside This Issue The 30th Anniversary of the Transportation Specialist Awards The MSBOA Operator Archive PG 1 cont. PG 5
From the President Garrett Regan PG 2
Legislative Update
Scott MacMahon PG 3
News & Views 2020/21 > 2021/20
Rayme Bernick PG 4
Keep Your Branding Up To Date Goff Public PG 5
Bill Would Require Twice a Year Drug Testing for New Jersey Bus Drivers Shelly Jonas PG 6
$5 BILLION Clean School Bus Program Shelly Jonas PG 8-9
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo Aims to Disarm Employers by Prohibiting Captive Audience Meetings by PG 10
The 30th Anniversary of the Transportation Specialist Awards By The MSBOA Operator Archive The Transportation Specialist Awards were established in 1992. Although technically this will be the 29th year awards are being distributed (thanks COVID), I thought it was worth sharing the history of how this award was established. I found the initial newsletter article from the MSBOA Operator in December 1991. It is interesting how relevant these words still are thirty years later. Transportation Specialist What is the most valuable asset of your company? Who is the most visible representative of your company? What separates MSBOA members from other contractors or district owned operations? Equipment? Facilities? No, it is your employees job performance and your ability to motivate, educate and support your Transportation Specialists/School Bus Drivers. A committee comprised of Jenny and Gordy Hoglund, Leo Moran, Roger Millner and Tom Merrill met with Guy Strauss of Faber Sherney Advertising to discuss ways to unlock the wealth of positive information and experiences of MSBOA members and their employees. We all know the importance of high-quality employees and it is time to publicly recognize the contribution our employees have made to the success of our companies. Contractors often receive praise from their school districts for the service they provide, and it is important to remember that our employees are in large part responsible for our success. The current situation of negativism toward the driver’s ability due to recent tragedies has cast a shadow over those setting the standard of excellence. These awards give recognition to a few of the many Transportation Specialists who have given much more of their time and talent than was expected or required.
continued pg 5
See Page 7 for Summer Conference Agenda
2 The Operator
From the President Garrett Regan, Faribault, MN I hope as each of you are reading this your school year came to a smooth conclusion. It has been a heck of a ride the last couple years but as we hoped/expected at the beginning of this, it seems our operators have conquered these obstacles while serving customers as well as could be expected. We are excited to hear school bus drivers are expected to qualify for front line worker pay, with the application being available for individuals to fill out through the state in early June. Hopefully this helps with employee retention as a benefit to our hero bus drivers who were no doubt front line community servants! This will certainly be a well deserved bonus for those who put the hours in behind the wheel serving their communities during the uncertain and early times of the pandemic.
Board of Directors
We wish you all the best this summer and hope to see each of you at the summer conference. The summer conference is not only an enjoyable experience every year, but we can learn from each other and our presenters to become more knowledgeable in our field. We hope to see all of you there….bring a friend from a neighboring bus operation! Have a wonderful June!
MISSION STATEMENT: THE PURPOSE OF THE OPERATOR IS TO PROVIDE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE MINNESOTA SCHOOL BUS OPERATORS ASSOCIATION WITH INFORMATION REGARDING CURRENT INDUSTRY ISSUES. THE OPERATOR IS PUBLISHED 11 TIMES A YEAR BY THE MSBOA, 10606 Hemlock St. NW Annandale, MN 55302. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 320-274-8313 FAX: 320-274-8027 Website: www.msboa.com SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE FREE WITH MEMBERSHIP. Additional subscriptions are $24.00 a year. COPYRIGHT 2021 MEMBERS MAY MAKE PHOTOCOPIES OR USE ARTICLES AS NECESSARY PROVIDING THE SOURCE IS CITED. Co-Editors: Shelly Jonas: shellyj@msboa.com VIEWS PRESENTED IN THIS NEWSLETTER MAY NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF THE ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP OR ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Jason Anderson, Big Lake
Tom Hey, Marshall
Garrett Regan, Faribault
Rayme Bernick, Delano
Shelly Jonas, Annandale
Josh Schiffler, Crosby
Eric Burrill, Jordan
Scott Kennedy, Zumbrota - Mazeppa
Bethany Schubert, Saint Stephen
Bethany Schubert
952.492-2410/Cell eburrill@benjaminbus.com
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
Ann Casey, St. Louis Park
Steve Latour, St. Paul
Kathryn Forbord, Lakeville
Connie Grisim, Stewartville
Paul Meyer, Hutchinson
Nathan Olander, Detroit Lakes
Doug Grisim, Lake City
Michael Putzke, Paynesville
PRESIDENT
Garrett Regan FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Jason Anderson TREASURER
Tom Hey Ex-Officio
Josh Schiffler
763.263.7900/Cell 612.251.8364 jason.anderson@visionmidwest.com
763.972.3991/Cell 612.702.8954 rayme@stahlkebus.com
952.426.7114/Cell 952.797.4936 acasey@adamsvs.net
507.533.8775/Cell 507.254.3828 Connie.grisimbus@gmail.com
651.345.4112/CELL 651.380.9063 douggrisim@gmail.com
507.532.4043 /CELL 507.829.7365 thomashey@iw.net
320.274.8313 / CELL 612.599.0431 shellyj@msboa.com
507.273.2819 skennedy379@aol.com
651.251.8080 / CELL 651.587.6292 slatour@minnesotacoaches.com
320.234-0888 / CELL 612.281.7375 paulm@hutchbus.com
320.243.4455 / FAX 243.4450 putmic@hotmail.com
507.334.5121/ CELL 651.470.7948 gregan@minnesotacoaches.com
218.546.6156 / CELL 612.245.6579 jschiffler@citransportation.com
320.251.1202 / CELL 218.851.2061 bethany@trobecsbus.com
952.985.7540/ CELL 952.484.6879 kforbord@schmittyandsons.com
218.847.7533 njolander@gmail.com
3
Legislative Update By Scott MacMahon, Flaherty Hood Phone: 651-259-1908 • Email: shmcmahon@flaherty-hood.com As I sit here writing my article, the legislature wrapped up their work for the legislative session about 8 hours ago, at midnight, Monday morning, May 23. And I use the phrase “wrapped up their work” loosely, because the session ended with a fizzle with very little of their final bills and the budget deal making it across the finish line. By the time this newsletter hits your desk this article may be outdated, because there is chatter about a possible special session. But as of now, it is not happening, and I still want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the things that happened this session and some of the things that did not. Our biggest success this session was helping get the unemployment insurance pool bill and front line worker bill to the governor’s desk. While there were countless groups working on this effort, we know how important both of these issues are to you, as small businesses, and to your drivers, so we put our shoulder inti helping get this important bill to the governor’s desk. As a reminder, the unemployment insurance pool bill helped refill the deficit in the unemployment pool, which forced the state to assess all employers with significantly larger unemployment insurance bills for this year. While you had to pay the bill by April 30, the good news is you will get a significant portion of that cost refunded in the coming weeks. And on the front line worker program, many of your employees, especially your drivers, should qualify for the grants. We will keep sending information about this program, but the latest information is available at frontlinepay.mn.gov. Now onto the disappointments for the session. With the legislature not coming to agreement on the various omnibus and budget bills, and thereby not passing them before the session was required to end, some of our top priorities for this session that would have been included in those final bills did not make it through in the end.
In the final week of the session, the conference committee tasked with creating a final transportation bill came to an agreement to include a provision in the transportation conference committee report to extend the retirement date for type III vehicles temporarily for an additional year. Unfortunately, the conference committee report was not enacted, so this extension was not approved. This means that come September 1, 2022, any type III vehicle that is twelve years or older will no longer be allowed to be used. If a special session is called, and if a transportation bill is approved, I suspect this extension will be included. But as of writing this newsletter, the above is what you should expect. And I suspect you will be hearing about this from Lt. Reu sometime soon. Another issue left out in the final days was a proposal to add additional funding into the stop arm camera grant program. While the conference committee did not come to any public agreement on any finance proposals, I have been told that there was support in both the Senate and House to put additional funds in that program, with hopes of getting most, if not all, buses outfitted with stop arm cameras. But again, the transportation bill did not get done, so this funding was ultimately nor approved. As we wrap up another session, I want to thank you for the opportunity to represent you at the capitol. It truly is an honor and a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you at the summer conference. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns. You can reach me at shmcmahon@flaherty-hood.com or 651-2591908.
4 News & Views 2020/21 > 2021/20 By Rayme Bernick - Stahlke Bus Service Do I dare say that it feels like this school year with Covid and the aftermath feels worse than 2020? When 2020 first hit, there were so many unknowns and uncertainties it was hard to know what was to come, but we powered through. Everyone was extremely supportive, helpful and empathetic.
are exhausted. You fear a bus breaking down, because you cannot find parts. You fear a new route, because you cannot find a vehicle. You fear employees leaving, because are you going to be able to find a replacement in this new era of people not wanting to actually work.
This year has proven to be difficult, in so many different ways. This year our drivers got hit with Covid, shortages, fatigue and unwanted issues. Being down 12 drivers, when you employ roughly 40, was a couple of the most stressful weeks of my school bus career, but somehow you made it through. The help and support we have experienced through this all have been unwavering, but we
We feel we have lost some of our empathy, and that makes dealing with these issues even harder. I am very much looking forward to the presentation by Kendria Taylor during the summer conference. She is speaking on: The Right Bus, the Right Time; Over Coming Burnout; Building Back Trust; Using Empathy as a Tool for Resilience. I feel we can all use more empathy and need to tools to help us use it in our everyday lives.
Need Legal Help? It’s Just a Phone Call Away!
As a valued member of Minnesota School Bus Operator’s Assosication, you are entitled to using Thomas Revnew of Seaton, Peters & Revnew Legal Hotline free of charge. During each six month period, you will be entitled to two free fifteen minute telephone calls to the Hotline. MSBOA encourages you to use this free service. When using the hotline, please follow the following procedure:
I hope to see you all in June!
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5 The 30th Anniversary of the Transportation Specialist Awards continued from page 1 Attracting high quality employees is a real problem for many contractors. So often the bus driver, or the bus industry itself, is only portrayed in a negative situation. This is a first step toward changing that image and sharing the positive side of or profession. These awards will be individual awards, but the recipients represent every Transportation Specialist who do their job with the desire to serve to the best of their ability. Please do not miss the opportunity to demonstrate your appreciation to your drivers for their tremendous efforts under some conditions that we, if placed in their position, would not tolerate.
6 Bill Would Require Twice a Year Drug Testing for New Jersey Bus Drivers By Shelly Jonas A week after legal recreational marijuana sales began in New Jersey, a pair of Republican state lawmakers have proposed requiring school bus drivers in the state to face more robust drug testing — and be barred from driving, at least temporarily, if they test positive. The bill would mandate those drivers be tested randomly twice a year for “alcohol, narcotics, or habit-producing drugs.” As per Federal regulations, the New Jersey drivers would still be required to be in the random testing pools for drugs and alcohol, but the law would ensure that all drivers are tested at least twice per year. The Bill Author DeAnne DeFuccio said, “We have a collective responsibility to protect children, which will be more challenging as
our New Jersey laws and attitudes toward drugs like marijuana evolve,” DeFuccio said. “School bus drivers are carrying our most precious cargo and our rules regarding drug and alcohol testing should reflect that.” Due to a labor shortage and the abundance of marijuana usage, employers are increasingly removing the THC panel from their pre-employment drug tests in states where it is legal. Additionally, liability is becoming an issue for companies facing lawsuits by plaintiffs who were terminated or not hired based on a positive screening. For example, Amazon excluded marijuana from pre-employment drug screening in June 2021 for employees who are not governed by Federal DOT regulations. Amazon is lobbying the federal government to legalize marijuana.
Dropping marijuana tests allows employers to consider hiring and retaining the small but growing share of applicants who use the drug. Nationwide, the failure rate of pre-employment tests is 4.8% in states that Your Fleet Solutions Partner allow adults to www.hoglundbus.com buy recreational marijuana. While the government attempts to figure out the paradoxical situation that legalized marijuana brings to employers, it seems STOCK UNITS ARE READY FOR that we will have laws that reflect the IMMEDIATE DELIVERY! contradiction.
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MSBOA
June 19-22, 2022 Arrowwood Conference Center, Alexandria, MN
Sunday 6/19 4:30PM
(See Reservation form to reserve your room.)
MSBOA Board Meeting
Le Homme Dieu
Monday 6/20 8:00-10:00AM 8:00-9:00AM 9:00-10:00AM 10:00-11:00AM 11:00-1:00PM 1:30PM 1:30PM 6:00PM
Vendor Setup Registration Speaker: LT. Brian Reu: Office of Public Transportation Safety Vendor Showcase Vendor Show & Round Table Networking Luncheon MSBOA 9-Hole Golf Tournament Mixer (Contact Linda Telin - LTelin@telingroup.com) Carlos Creek Winery Trip- Sign up at Registration (Transporation sponsored by North Central Bus) MSBOA Vendor Night: Food, Friends, and FUNdraising! Social Hour: 6pm; Dinner: 7pm; Raffle: 8pm
Tennis Center Lower Ballroom Tennis Center
Lobby Upper Ballroom
Tuesday 6/21 7:30AM 8:30AM 10:00AM 11:00AM 12:00PM 1:00PM 3:00PM 6:00PM 7:00PM 8:00PM
Breakfast Speaker: Tom Revnew-Changes Under Biden Administration MDE: Funding Options for Transportation Legislative Update/General Business Meeting Luncheon Speaker: Kendria Taylor: The Right Bus, The Right Time; Over Coming Burnout; Building Back Trust; Using Empathy as a Tool for Resilience MSBOA Board Meeting MSBOA President’s Reception Sponsored by Dave Bakken & Jill Hatfield, North Risk Partners MSBOA President’s Banquet Transportation Specialist Awards Ceremony
Wednesday 6/22 8:00AM
Breakfast- on your own at Lake Cafe Register at www.msboa.com For questions please email shellyj@msboa.com
Tennis Center Lower Ballroom Lower Ballroom Lower Ballroom Upper Ballroom Lower Ballroom Le Homme Dieu Upper Ballroom
Vendor:
$275
Attendee:
$175
8 $5 Billion Clean School Bus Program By Shelly Jonas The EPA has rolled out the Clean School Bus program this month, an element of the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will enact a rebate program for school district purchases of zero-emission buses, funded with $5 billion. The 2022 application cycle opened on May 20th and will go through August 19, 2022. This initial cycle will be providing $500 Million divided up evenly for zero emission and propane/CNG school buses. The cycle will fully close out in October 2024 when buses need to have been put into service and old buses are scrapped. Contractors are not eligible for this funding, however, in a webinar on May 24th the EPA outlined a scenario where qualified school bus dealers can
pass the rebate funds onto a contracted school bus company. The EPA also stated that school districts can apply on behalf of the contractor, however part of the requirement will be that the bus is used in that school district for 5 years. The EPA mentioned this program is new and portions are convoluted and will be re-looking at some of these terms for future funding cycles. There will be a priority for school districts who have 20% of their students living in poverty, are a qualified rural school district or are a tribal school district. One application can be for up to 25 buses. Buses that are eligible for replacement must be 2010 or older diesel school buses that are 10,001 GVW or more, have been used on average 3 days or more daily during the 21-22 school year excluding COVID. The new buses must be either battery/electric, CNG
9 $5 Billion Clean School Bus Program Continued or propane and must not have been ordered prior to the school district selection. They must be used for at least 5 years, meet FMSS and fueled or charged according to manufacturer’s recommendations. They must not have a diesel-powered passenger heater or be funded by any other federal funds. Max funding depends on bus size and whether the school district meets the priorities. For example, an electric school bus in a priority school district can receive up to $375,000. Those not in a priority district will receive up to $250,000. See the full table below. Infrastructure costs are eligible as well. Depending on priority status there is $20,000-$13,000 available per bus for infrastructure costs. The EPA suggests reaching out to your local utility provider very early on in the process. Charging units and electric panels are part of the eligible infrastructure costs. Transformers, utility poles and meters are likely ineligible costs. All infrastructure must meet the
Energy Star requirements. Although some school districts will likely wish to have DC fast chargers, they are not covered by Energy Star. Grant applications that are submitted will be given a random number. Those numbers will then be put in order and the EPA will start going through the list. They will be approving at least one application per state to make sure the money is geographically spread over the US. The EPA suggests not waiting until the last minute to apply. Check out the EPA website for all the details. https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus
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10 NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo Aims to Disarm Employers by Prohibiting Captive Audience Meetings By Thomas R Revnew With workers at Starbucks, Amazon, Apple and elsewhere seeking to organize a union, employers have been carefully considering how to address potential union organizing efforts within their own organizations. Often times, employers have mandatory meetings with their employees to educate them on what it really means to join a union. On April 7, 2022, National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo (“Abruzzo”) issued her latest memorandum announcing that she will ask that the Board find employers’ mandatory captive audience meetings as a violation of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). This is Abruzzo’s ninth memorandum since her swearing in on July 22, 2021. While her other memoranda are similarly pro-union, her latest solidifies her intent to make large, sweeping changes to the Board and labor law as we know it. As noted, captive audience meetings are mandatory meetings employers may hold with employees for the purpose of educating them as to the effects of unionization on their employment and the business. Historically, these meetings constitute an employers’ best opportunity for discussing unionization implications with employees, and research shows they are the best weapon for defeating unionization efforts. While these meetings are traditionally thought of as large group meetings, Abruzzo is clear that she is also seeking to eliminate situations where management approaches employees in the middle of conducting their job duties. Employers are already heavily restricted during unionization campaigns. They must proceed with extreme caution in terms of what they discuss with employees and even how they
discuss it with them. In this move, Abruzzo asks the Board to reconsider well-established law and overturn over decades-long precedent. She argues that the NLRA provides employees with the right to engage in or refrain from engaging in protected activities at work, and that forcing employees to attend such mandatory meetings is against their rights to freedom of expression. Of course, many legal commentators, including this author, believe such action by the NLRB to squelch an employer’s speech rights, provided they are not threatening, interrogating, or promising benefits to employees to refrain from union activity during the captive audience meeting, would violate the employer’s First Amendment rights as well as rights under Section 8(c) of the NLRA. Organized labor groups have already used Abruzzo’s memorandum as the basis for unfair labor practice charges. On May 17, 2022, workers at an Apple Inc. store in Atlanta filed an unfair labor practice charge contesting Apple’s captive audience meetings preceding the representation election scheduled for June 2, 2022. As a result, this case will likely be followed very closely. Managing labor issues can lead to some difficult legal scenarios for employers to address. As such, employers should consult with a labor attorney to determine the best approach for their respective business. For additional information, please feel free to contact Tom Revnew at (952) 921-4622 or trevnew@prkalaw.com.
11 Keep Your Branding Up To Date Goff Public Spring is the perfect time to clean up and clean out. But spring cleaning isn’t limited to tackling a pesky junk drawer or organizing that closet you’ve been avoiding. Digital clutter can be just as distracting as the clutter inside your home. Social media channels are your organization’s front door – this is the first place your audiences get a sense of who you are. Authentic, intentional social media channels have never been more important than they are today. Showcasing your brand on social media plays a significant role in landing new followers while retaining your existing audiences.
Three areas to review: •Profile and cover photos: If either or both are older than two years, it’s time for an update. Platforms, including Facebook, leave a timestamp on the profile and cover photos, leaving your brand at risk of looking out of date. Use high-resolution images sized correctly, by channel. •Bio: This is often the first place a user reads about you and is a great opportunity to inject your personality and key information. If you’ve refreshed your messaging lately, apply those changes to your social profile, too. Most social media channels include a dedicated website URL, so avoid putting it in your bio. Doing so will only eat into your precious character count, which is limited on several channels. WE REALLY DO MEAN
•Company information: Often overlooked, but important – especially if you’ve expanded your service offerings or added a new location. Double-check your website URL, business hours, contact information (including email) and services provided.
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MSBOA Winter Conference January 27-28, 2022 Rivers Edge Convention Center, St. Cloud
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