The labor situation with the former Stinger drivers is unfortunate. While Groome’s practices in this instance were shortsighted and unfair, they do not constitute the accusations of “Union Busting.” However, many of the people who drove the buses had worked at Tech for over ten years and, in such capacity, were members of the Tech community. The Institute and Groome Transportation should have been more accommodating to the workers. Aiding in finding new jobs or priority when new drivers were hired could have helped prevent the predicament that currently exists.
Under the contract with Tech, Groome has full privy on employment of the bus drivers, and Tech should not attempt to strong arm Groome over this situation. But Tech does have a responsibility as member of the community to address the issue.
The Institute has refused to issue a statement on the situation, neglecting its role a leader of the Atlanta community. If Tech expects its students, faculty and staff to be citizens of the Atlanta community the Institute as a whole must remember that it also is one large and highly important citizen of the city and should act that way, using its civic voice to at the least acknowledge when political issues involve our campus.
This situation comes across that Tech is apart from the city, as opposed to a part of the city. If Tech wants to educate the future leaders of the world it must first learn to play a leadership role in the community that surrounds it. It is not enough to simply go out and apply a new coat of paint on playgrounds; the Tech community must truly learn about the problems that face the people within in the city around us and work to find a remedy to the problems, including labor disputes. The administration’s seeming lack of the concern for the former drivers goes against any such objectives.