Labor tensions in Richmond, Va., highlight the Anti-Black nature of Union Laws
On April 25, five Richmond Public School (RPS) bus drivers were fired after calling out of work to gather outside Richmond City Hall to advocate for overtime pay for performing after school runs. The drivers worked extra hours to drive children who stayed after school for extracurricular activities. These hard-working employees call themselves the RPS 5.
Nearly 10 weeks later, their jobs were reinstated by Superintendent Jason Kramas.
The RPS 5 are regular attendants of meetings for Local 804, a local chapter of LIUNA - the Laborers’ International Union of North America, who represent transportation department workers.
Previously, bus drivers in the RPS system received a flat rate for their after-school runs. Now, after reaching a deal with the Richmond School Board, they will be compensated per hour for after-school runs and have their contract hours reduced from 8 hours to 6 while maintaining the same salary.
“It’s been like an emotional rollercoaster,” Kemya Williams, one of the RPS 5, said.
Chris Hollis, a representative of the RPS 5 and district manager of iLUNA, said that they did not walk this path alone. Hollis made clear that these five and the Richmond community, who have taken a stand beside them, have built on the power from Black, working-class communities.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of our ancestors,” Hollis said.
After months of advocacy, the RPS 5 and their representatives hope to have changed minds and sentiments surrounding labor rights and union activity in Richmond, and elsewhere.
“If you’re a part of the working class, you’re a part of the struggle,” Hollis said.
Mamie Taylor, candidate for School Board representative of District 5, helped to further contextualize the racialized nature of this tension between the School Board and the RPS 5.
“The majority of the transportation department is of African Descent,” Taylor said. However, the majority of the School Board is white.
This dynamic is not new, and has historically come at the expense of bus drivers like the RPS 5.
“Unless you’re blind like Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder, you’ll see that every one of them is Black,” Hollins said. “Go back in history and you’ll see that it’s always been Black bus drivers in these urban cities.They look down upon them because they’re not a teacher, they’re not a white-collar job.
Though the RPS 5 has been officially reinstated, there are still important matters that are not yet resolved, like the reinstatement of benefits such as health insurance. It was mentioned that health insurance coverage would not be continued as part of their employment through the RPS system until Aug. 30.
Stress has taken a toll on the mental and physical health of the RPS 5. Two members in particular, Sonny Randolph and Darryl Williams, have expressed concerns over their health, having not had access to insurance for 10 weeks.
“So we gave you all these years of service, paid all of this money into our benefits, and you take everything from us,” Kemya Williams said.
Not only are the RPS 5 frustrated that their labor has gone unappreciated, but some members have medications that they depend on for conditions like diabetes, and high blood pressure.
“I went to the hospital for a physical today, and my blood pressure was so high that I didn’t pass,” Randolph said. He will have to wait another week to have another check-up, and members of the RPS 5 empathized with him, expressing concern that he would not be able to continue driving until he was able to pass his physical.
The added stress compounded by not being able to get his blood pressure medication without insurance will make it difficult for him to pass his physical exam. This will further delay his paychecks, and it makes it more difficult for Randolph to make ends meet.
Darryl Williams has Type 2 Diabetes, which he takes medication to manage his condition.
“I hate to say it, but the reality is that I can drop dead any day. And not only that, but it also not only affects me; it affects my kids because they’re on my healthcare,” Williams said.
Despite the challenges continuing, the RPS 5 and their representatives say that they will continue to fight.
“When a worker realizes that their labor is their power and they unify and come together collectively, power yields to that pressure,” Hollins said.
