TOP QUALITY — PEF President Roger Benson presents Bob Bailey with the union’s highest honor, the “Quality Services from Quality People” award at the union’s Executive Board meeting in December.
— Photo by John Epting
Operators complain he’s too tough
PEF wages new battle for bus inspector supervisor
DENYCE DUNCAN LACY
Doing his job too well has apparently cost a Schenectady man his job, again, but his union is again fighting back.
Robert Bailey, a state Department of Transportation (DOT) supervisor in charge of bus safety for the greater Capital District area, was involuntarily reassigned from his job in December, after some bus companies that had several buses fail inspections, complained to DOT about his tough standards. Ironically, three weeks earlier, Bailey was honored by PEF with it’s highest award — the “Quality Services from Quality People” award, for his nearly 18 years of outstanding public service in bus inspections.
Now PEF has filed a grievance against DOT over Bailey’s involuntary reassignment to a non-enforcement position. The grievance alleges DOT violated Article 33 of the PEF contract by subjecting Bailey to what amounts to discipline without the due process protections afforded by the bargaining agreement.
Putting safety first
“Bob Bailey has distinguished himself as an employee who follows the letter of the law when it comes to the safety of bus passengers,” said PEF President Roger Benson. “His efforts have made the buses we and our children ride on safer, and for that he ought to be commended. But, instead, it appears that the state DOT is again trying to punish him by stripping him of his duties to appease some bus company operators whose buses did not make the grade. PEF will vigorously fight to enforce the protections of our contract and to ensure that Mr. Bailey is returned to his post as a supervising bus inspector as quickly as possible.”
The grievance notes that among those who have complained about Bailey’s strict standards are the City of Amsterdam, which had a bus-inspection failure rate of 42 percent, Adirondack Trailways Bus Company with a failure rate of 15 percent, and the Bethlehem Central School District with a failure rate of 14 percent.
‘Let me do my job’
Bailey says he just wants to do the job he was hired to do.
“I was hired as the supervising motor vehicle inspector for DOT Region 1 in 1996 in order to bring down what was the worst bus-safety failure rate in the state at 33 percent,” Bailey says. “Under my watch it’s come down to 9 percent. I believe that means the buses are safer and I’d like to keep making sure they stay that way.”
This is the second time PEF has fought to gain Bailey’s reassignment after some bus carriers complained about his strict safety standards. In 1997, PEF filed a successful contract grievance — again over illegal discipline — and Bailey was returned to his job supervising bus inspections.