Res. No. 201
Title
Resolution calling upon the New York City Department of Education to create a pilot program for a worker- and parent-controlled electric school bus company to provide services to New York City school children beginning in September 2018.
Body
By Council Members Espinal, Rosenthal, Constantinides, Richards, Levin, Cornegy, Dromm, Maisel, Brannan and Treyger
Whereas, Parent, education, labor, environmental and economic justice organizations have expressed support for the development of an electric school bus worker cooperative in New York City that would be governed by the workers themselves and include representation from students' parents; and
Whereas, Under the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the City's Department of Small Business Services has supported worker-owned cooperatives as a means of creating economic opportunity and better working conditions for all New Yorkers; and
Whereas, In several countries, worker-owned cooperatives have been successful in bringing together both workers and citizens to deliver public services; and
Whereas, Worker-owned cooperatives in the United States have been shown to be both productive and equitable for workers and consumers alike; and
Whereas, According to the Comptroller's Office, New York City spends $1.2 billion annually on school busing contracts with private providers; and
Whereas, Few busing contracts are awarded to firms owned by women or minorities despite the fact that a majority of school bus workers are themselves women and minorities; and
Whereas, Private bus companies transport 150,000 children to and from New York City schools annually on approximately 9,000 diesel powered buses; and
Whereas, According to the Environmental Protection Agency, diesel exhaust from school buses has a negative impact on the environment and human health, especially for children who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully ...
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