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LONDON, Ontario, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Approximately 67 school bus monitors in Southern Ontario are expected to lose their jobs this summer as a result of cuts by the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.
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School bus monitors help ensure the safe transportation of our most precious cargo: our children. Most are assigned to buses serving special education students, while others work on regular routes where special education students ride alongside other children.
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Monitors are trained to professionally de-escalate crises on board, including situations where students in distress are screaming or banging their heads against windows, allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the road. Without monitors, drivers are left to handle these situations alone.
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“School bus drivers and monitors have been beaten, bitten, pushed, scratched and injured on the job. In one case, a student opened the emergency exit while the bus was hauling kids. In another case, a student in crisis tore flesh from a monitor. Imagine a driver going 80 km/h having to deal with an emergency like that alone,” said John McCann, President of Teamsters Local Union 879.
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The monitors earn $18.60 an hour on split shifts and have no paid days off. They are employed by Voyago, a transportation provider serving both school boards.
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“These school boards mismanaged their budgets for years, and now low-wage workers and vulnerable kids are being made to pay the price. The boards of education are jeopardizing the safety of our children, and that is unacceptable,” added McCann.
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“Teamsters Canada stands fully behind these monitors and the families who depend on them. Cutting the people who keep children safe on the way to school is as short-sighted as it gets,” said François Laporte, President of Teamsters Canada.
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Rally to Support Bus Monitors
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A rally in support of workers will be held on Wednesday, August 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the corner of Trafalgar Street and Clarke Road in London. Bus monitors, drivers and supporters will call on the school boards to restore funding for these positions before the school year begins in September. All are welcome.
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Teamsters Local Union 879 represents workers across Southern Ontario and is affiliated with Teamsters Canada, which represents approximately 130,000 workers across the country.
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Media contact:
Christopher Monette
Director of Public Affairs, Teamsters Canada
Cell: 514-226-6002
[email protected]
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English (US)