Low-paid East Bay Paratransit drivers, who transport the disabled, flock to Facebook
By Lisa Fernandez : ktvu – excerpt
More and more drivers who transport the East Bay’s most vulnerable population – the disabled and the elderly – are leaving their posts for more lucrative jobs as shuttle drivers carting around techies for Facebook, Google and Apple.
“I make double plus, now,” said Ray Nunnery, 57, of Oakland, who recently quit working for East Bay Transit to pick up professionals at Twitter and LinkedIn. “I get all the food you can eat. A free gym. A place to take a nap. And soon, our insurance is going to be free. Yes, you get attached to some of the passengers you take to dialysis appointments, but hey, money pays the bills.”…
Teamsters Joint Council 7 political director Doug Bloch told KTVU that there is definitely a threat of an all-out strike….
Bloch is hoping the Teamsters can win the same benefits for the drivers who take people in wheelchairs and who are frail to needed appointments throughout the East Bay. But he knows it will be an uphill battle…. (more)
