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Dayton school bus drivers say promised pay and longevity payments were not delivered; union seeks prompt remedy
Summary
At the Sept. 16 Dayton City School District board meeting, Local 627 Transportation Union President Maria Winfrey told the board that step increases, longevity payments and a scheduled 1% wage item tied to the 2025–26 year were not paid as agreed in the district’s MOU; the board asked staff for a timeline to fix the issue.
Maria Winfrey, president of Local 627 (Dayton school transportation union), told the Dayton City School District Board of Education on Sept. 16 that bus drivers had not received pay and longevity payments they were owed under a district memorandum of understanding.
“We were expecting to have our step increase on August 1, as is stated in this MOU, which that did not take place,” Winfrey said. She added that longevity payments for employees with 20 or more years of service and a 1% wage increase slated for July 1, 2025, had not been issued, and that drivers were experiencing financial hardship as a result.
The union leader told the board the MOU had been negotiated and signed by bargaining units and the district and that staff and members had expected synchronized anniversary and longevity dates: “This is a MOU that was signed by the board… and it's not being given to us correctly as we agreed on it with our signatures,” Winfrey said.
Board members acknowledged the concern and asked administration for an update. After Winfrey’s remarks, Board Member Walker asked for a status report on remedies and a timeline to resolve the payroll issues. Board members said a meeting to work through outstanding items was scheduled and asked staff to report back to the board.
Associate Superintendent Minor, who presented earlier agenda items, did not dispute the union’s characterization; the district confirmed in the meeting that follow-up meetings were scheduled to resolve outstanding payroll and anniversary-date issues. The board called for a short-term update to provide clarity for affected employees.
Winfrey raised other operational complaints tied to the same pay package and the district’s transition to a different pay cycle; she said some drivers had uncovered routes and that incorrect paychecks on the most recent pay date had caused distress among hourly employees. “When you cut their check or don't proceed to do the right thing in their pay, that calls a hardship,” she said.
The board did not take a formal vote on the union’s request during the public comment period. Instead, members directed staff to provide a timeline and corrective plan at the next update or in a specially scheduled meeting with union leadership. The district also confirmed an internal meeting with bargaining representatives was planned for the coming Thursday to address pay-cycle opt-outs and outstanding items.
The public comments and the board’s request for a remedial timeline close a visible gap between the signed MOU’s expectations and its implementation, according to the union’s public remarks. The board’s next publicly scheduled meeting will include financial and contract items; the district said it would report progress on the transportation payroll issues before further personnel action was required.
