JESSUP, Md. — Lining Dorsey Run Road in Jessup, where Zum dispatches its bus fleet, some of its drivers speak of broken promises.
“When I got here, I was promised some things, and guess what? They aren’t following through,” said Angela Scott.
Desperate for drivers at the start of the school year, Zum brought in 70 of them from out-of-state, but along with its challenges delivering students to school in Howard County, drivers say it hasn’t delivered on incentives offered to bring them aboard.
“They promised us signing bonuses, but now they’re reneging on it,” said Charlene Foote, “There’s two signing bonuses. One was $8,000 and one was an attendance bonus and now, they’re trying to say it was a combination, so basically to me, they’re cheating me out of my money.”
Now, organized labor has picked up their cause in a bid to launch a union to represent the drivers.
“As it currently stands, Zum has a contract with Howard County,” said Ray Lee of the UFCW Local 1994, “Shouldn’t the workers have a contract with their employer?”
Not everyone is in favor of becoming a union and there are some 283 people who will have to decide the issue on December 12.
Zum has reacted to the effort claiming it offers “industry leading pay, benefits, work culture and career growth."
It also claims it would jeopardize the open lines of communication that currently exist with its drivers, but words mean little to drivers still waiting on the company to honor its promises.
“I have a family and they bills are not low, either. They’re really high, so I was depending on my bonuses for extra money,” said Foote, “but I can’t get it, because now they reneged talking about a combination.”
