Last Updated on February 22, 2022
A Charleston area parent decided to put his web skills to good use to connect other parents and get a plan in place if school bus drivers go on strike.
His child is one of hundreds that could be affected if bus drivers don’t report to work, so he first created a Facebook page, then expanded to a full-fledged website. There, parents can register and then indicate whether they need help finding a ride for their child or whether they can provide help to others who need it.
It’s an impressive use of social media and the internet to solve a real problem that shouldn’t have to be solved to begin with: any labor agreement with school bus drivers should have been worked out over summer vacation, not in the middle of a school year where parents have to make last-minute arrangements for their children.
What’s worse — and what makes the idea so timely — is that as of Sunday night, the best one of the affected school districts could do in answering the question of whether drivers would strike was to say that they hadn’t been notified that a strike would happen.
Presumably, they hadn’t been notified that a strike wouldn’t happen, either.
Which means, of course, they have no idea.
Still, in just a matter of a few days, this parent was able to pull this thing together to at least try to accomplish something important. It’s amazing how much has changed thanks to the internet, and how quickly things can now unfold.
It’s a little scary, too, but definitely amazing.
Your Turn:
Are there any similar kinds of internet innovations you’ve run across in your community? Have you ever been tempted to start a project like this when you felt like you weren’t getting the answers you needed?
Astonishing! He is awesome! People can strike at anytime and they don’t really care if this would effect other people. Â Hurray! Internet save the day!
It sounds to me like the school district doesn’t understand what “strike” means. I’m pretty sure they don’t let you know in advance so you can have a back-up plan. That’s kind of the point. I think it’s great that this parent is taking matters into his own hands. At the same time, I agree with you that it’s sad that these families are being put in this situation. The district and the drivers need to work out their problems in a way that doesn’t impact the publics they serve.
I am really enjoying your blog, Patrick. It’s become one I look forward to reading.
profkrg Thanks so much for the kind words.
Here in Charleston, the school district hires a company to do the actual driving, and it appears that the negotiations are between that company and the Teamsters. The school district expects to be notified by the third party if a strike is planned, and so far, the union has been fairly forthcoming with its strike plans. In nearby Beaufort County, the union DID vote to authorize a strike, but I don’t know whether the drivers there ever actually went on strike, yet.
That is a great use of social media. Â We lost our busing completely about 4 years ago when levies didn’t pass. I don’t think there was any organized outreach to organize rides for kids. I’m glad we are in an area where the kids can walk on nice days.
I agree with my friend Aaron down there.
I agree with Ted, Social Networks can make a huge difference! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thanks for this post Patrick, So important for people to realize how social platforms can be used in their every day lives beyond simple personal posts and marketing posts.
The power of social media is something that should never be underestimated. Companies are “slowly” becoming more responsive to the impact social media can have. A good example is yesterday actually….I was a little ticked at Pizza Hut because of a “new” policy they implemented. I twitted my disdain for their policy and within less than 5 minutes I received a tweet from Pizza Hut asking what they could do to make it right. I really wasn’t expecting anything out of it….I just made the tweet to make me feel better because it was my son’s birthday and the stress level was already high and I didn’t need to be stressed because of pizzas….sigh….
Aaron Brinker
dadblunders I’ve had a few similar experiences with businesses who I’ve tweeted something to in frustration. Most notably, a recent problem with Comcast that I tweeted their ComcastCares Twitter account got me connected with their corporate office and ultimately got me a major credit on my bill because the local office couldn’t get things together. It is nice to see companies figuring out that having a presence online is a good thing!