Pros
A child ride along program is offered so your own children can come to work and ride the bus with you. This feature saves a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on daycare fees and just makes it so much easier to work. There are flexible hours (6am-9am and 2pm-4pm roughly) , ok pay sometimes (if you work a full week), drivers get to attend most field trips for free, it is a union job, and there is some down time while on the job.
Kontras
HOT IN SUMMER AND COLD IN WINTER. There are no benefits. Insurance is offered through the company but is too expensive to afford. Paychecks barely break even with the bills I have to pay, and if there are any teacher work days or inclement weather days my paycheck withers and dies. There are some paid holidays but the days leading up to them and the days after are not paid. Over Christmas break, Spring break, and Summer break you can claim unemployment but it is not even close to enough. The busses are not always running properly, and although they are scheduled for regular maintenence, they are not always in safe running condition. When the driver reports a problem with a bus it could take up to 2 weeks for the mechanics to fix the problem. Management is very disorganized and has an "open door policy" but half the time are not available to speak to employees about issues that need immediate attention. Then there is "THE LINE". The line is where everyone that works in the afternoon crowds into the bus barn to get their bus keys. It is a free for all where everyone "jockeys" for position. There is no order to it at all. There is so much more that management could do to address these issues but they act like nothing is wrong. If I didnt absolutely need this job I would have left a long time ago. Unfortunately it is the only thing I can find to work around my kids schedule. It is sad because with a few changes this could be a great company to work for, but with the way things are now, I doubt that will happen. The bus lot is falling apart. Some is paved and some is gravel. It is full of pot holes, and people trip on a daily basis, but management is doing nothing. When it rains you are walking through a muddy mess. I dont think it is the immediate managements fault on this one though. Their hands are tied so to speak. I think corporate isnt approving repairs because it would cost so much. The roof was partially ripped off during a storm a couple months back and still hasnt been fixed. So many things need to change.