Howard County bus drivers choose to work directly with bus company, Zum
BALTIMORE - Howard County school bus drivers have chosen to work directly with Zum, the company contracted to operate the district's school buses, without union representation, Zum said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Today, Zum's drivers and attendants elected to work directly with Zum," Zum said. "We are grateful to our drivers and attendants, who are at the heart of what we do. We respect their choice and will continue to ensure that they experience industry-leading pay, benefits, work culture and career growth. We are excited to partner with them to provide safe, reliable transportation for the families of Howard County. We look forward to the certification of this result."
On Wednesday, Howard County bus drivers employed by Zum Transportation Services, joined members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1994 to hold a rally ahead of their representation vote scheduled for next week.
A Zum spokesperson told WJZ last week the company was not in favor of its drivers joining a union.
"We value the open lines of communication that we have with our drivers," the company told WJZ. "If there is a union, that would change, and we do not think that is in our drivers' or company's best interest," the spokesperson said. "We believe that once all the facts are known, our drivers will decide that a union is not necessary."
Howard County Public School District had issues with its bus service at the start of the school year.
About 20 routes were suspended, and the district was forced to adjust school times.
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