If you’re not aware of it today is the first day of school for Chicago Public Schools. The mayor has decreed that all CPS staff must be vaccinated and that various safety measures will be in place including universal masking and social distancing. ABC 7 Chicago reports that has had some unforeseen effects. There has been a mass resignation by CPS bus drivers:
Mostly selective enrollment and magnet school students are affected, officials said.
CPS said the bus companies have informed them that approximately 10% of their bus drivers have resigned, with at least 73 drivers resigning on Friday alone.
A statement from the district said, “According to the bus companies, the rush of resignations was likely driven by the vaccination requirements. As a result, the district went from being able to provide all eligible students a bus route, to being unable to accommodate transportation for approximately 2,100 students within a matter of days.”
Somehow I doubt that many CPS bus drivers are sporting MAGA hats. Thinking of vaccination reluctance as a partisan issue is simplistic. It’s an issue of trust and risk assessment and those are not limited to one political party or the other.
This does illustrate one of my gripes about politicians though. Somehow they imagine that actions don’t have consequences. In this case the consequence of the mayor’s decree was no school busses for some kids and extra expense for the CPS:
CPS has offered those families a $1,000 stipend for the first two weeks, with $500 per month after.
No word on where that money will come from. Presumably, the CPS has a roomful of money somewhere. $500 a week for bussing sounds like a lot to me.
I think there are bus driver shortages in a lot of places; we have them down here and they were reported before vaccination requirements were announced. My speculation is that a lot of bus drivers are mostly retired and possibly of an age that they are more concerned about health risks from the virus. I don’t doubt that an additional group more concerned about the vaccines could also quit as well in response to a mandate.
I agree with that, PD. That’s why I mentioned “risk assessment”. For many it’s practically a volunteer position.