HOW LONG WILL THE DRIVERS HAVE TO WAIT THIS TIME?

Allow arbitration or not?

  On May 27th Brega Transport sent their response to Judge Kelly concerning the binding arbitration that the National Labor Relations Board approved for the SMART Union. Brega Transport asked for a stay and received it from The Rockland County Supreme Court. The drivers Union had to submit their arguments first on why the stay should be removed and the arbitration to proceed. Brega Transport had to argue why the stay should be permanent. Basically Brega stated the drivers never had a contract to arbitrate. They may be correct, but somehow the drivers got paid according to written pay scales and received medical benefits. Call it what you may, the drivers were getting paid guaranteed wages and medical benefits. Brega Transport has good lawyers that always work around the edges. Hopefully the Judge in Rockland County will see through it unlike the Putnam County judge that allowed this contract to be awarded in the first place. If Coach USA still was the carrier there would be medical benefits for the drivers of TOR and TZXpress. I cannot imagine what some of them are going through without health care or having to pay the high cost of COBRA that does not last forever. Judge Kelly make your decision quickly so that the drivers can know if they will have the benefits they enjoyed from the prior contractor. It took five months for the Judge from Putnam County to make the final decision to award the Transportation Contract last year, only a few days before the transition was to take place. Lets not make this a replay of that fiasco……

Both responses can be read on the Rockland County Clerks website