Durham School Services reacts to union workers' claims of unsafe school buses

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Durham School Services is reacting to claims from their union school bus drivers and calling their claims "lies."

Monday, bus drivers and their union, Teamsters, complained the company was bullying its workers and putting children's safety at risk with dangerous buses.

Durham School Services is responding harshly to that, saying that their company is not ignoring safety concerns.

In a statement, Durham School Services called the Teamster press conference an attempt to damage their company's reputation.

It read in part:

"The lies shared yesterday have little to do with our service in Charleston; they are an attempt by the Teamsters to attack our company and they are using the low country as a battleground for a fight they are waging nationally."

Durham School Services said over half of their bus drivers are union workers. Some of those workers spoke out against the company at Monday's event saying they are forced to drive buses that need serious maintenance. The drivers claim neglecting these issues could lead to a serious accident on the road.

Durham School Services said that if the union bus drivers had these concerns, they should have brought them up while negotiating their latest labor contract two years ago.

Durham School Services said their buses are inspected twice a year by the SC State Transport Police.

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