Las Cruces school bus drivers still haven’t received agreed upon pay raise months after reaching labor pact

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Las Cruces school bus drivers have yet to see their agreed upon pay increase months after a new labor deal was reached.

The union representing drivers and Student Transportation Services (STS), which provides bus service for the Las Cruces Public Schools, went to the bargaining table in August and struck an agreement for a $2.60 an hour pay raise.

However, STS hasn't paid those raises as yet and now owes the drivers significant back pay.

Each driver works approximately 25 hours a week, which comes out to over $1,000 apiece that is owed.

Marco Torres, president of the Las Cruces Transportation Federation, said his union membership is tired of waiting because they are dependent on receiving that money owed to them.

"We had one driver who had a serious medical condition and she is trying to get it addressed but she can't afford to pay her co-pay.  Another driver showed me a paycheck stub and then showed me her rent that was due.  She will have three dollars left after she pays her rent," said Torres.

The divisional manager of STS, B.J. Garcia, told ABC-7 that drivers should receive their back pay soon.

"We are working right now on calculating the retro pay that is due to the employees and our goal is to have that paid in the next paycheck which is January the third," he said.