Super Bowl Sunday Becomes a Paid Holiday for Some School Bus Drivers
The new benefit for a drivers’ union in Chicago requires that they show up for work the day after the big game.
CHICAGO — Super Bowl Sunday will now be a paid holiday for some school bus drivers here, the Chicago Tribune reports.
After recent contract negotiations, First Student bus drivers who voted to join Teamsters Local 777 in November will be paid for that day. They will also receive paid funeral leave, new vision and life insurance coverage, and wage increases, as well as other benefits, according to the newspaper. The contract covers approximately 115 employees, and the drivers mainly cover routes for Chicago Public Schools.
Jim Glimco, the president of the union, told the Chicago Tribune that making Super Bowl Sunday a paid holiday benefited not only the workers, but First Student as well. It ensures the employees receiving the benefit show up for work the following Monday, since they have to work the day before a holiday and the day after it to get paid for the holiday, he noted.
Bob Rutkowski, an area general manager for the school bus contractor, told the newspaper that he came up with the idea because an extra day of pay has become popular in the contracts he negotiates.
To read the full story, go here.
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