RPS bus drivers rally as after-school activity pay suspended

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Dozens of Richmond Public Schools (RPS) bus drivers packed into City Hall Tuesday night, rallying at a school board meeting in protest of recent changes to their two-hour activity pay structure.

“I feel that the kids are going to be affected the most if they do take away the two hours,” said Chaniqua Jones, an RPS bus driver.

Drivers said their two-hour activity pay has been suspended -- a part of their contract that guaranteed two hours of pay for voluntary, after-school driving shifts.

“You don't have enough drivers to take the kids back and forth to school, let alone do after school,” said fellow driver Lorreen Thompson.

Bus drivers advocated for fair pay at a Richmond School Board meeting. (Photo: Sara Molina/8News)

This controversy follows a report from the RPS auditor in 2024, which claimed that paying two full hours for voluntary work potentially violated Virginia overtime laws, as not all activities took two hours.

But the drivers and their union, Local 804, are pushing back.

“The auditor made some reports based on the bus drivers’ pay practices -- and he has made some false claims,” said Keon Shim, business manager for Local 804.

Shim and the union argue that the law was misinterpreted and that drivers did not violate any overtime rules, as they are salaried workers.

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Drivers said the fight over pay is nothing new. Many have been voicing concerns about compensation since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They got us by the love in our hearts to volunteer to do this after-school stuff, because it's not mandatory,” said Jackie Griffin, a longtime RPS driver.

The board did not address the issue at the meeting, and it's unclear why bus driver management thinks drivers would volunteer to do extra work without extra pay. However, union leaders said they’re not backing down and will continue to advocate for drivers to receive extra pay.