70+ Chicago Bus Drivers Quit Over Forced Vaccinations, Mayor Asks Lyft And Uber For Help Photo: Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, center, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice K. Jackson, right and ward commissioner Alderman William Burnett, left, observe a classroom during their tour Feb. 11, 2021, at the William H. Brown Elementary School. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar, Pool)
Some Chicago public school students ready for in-classroom teaching found themselves with no transportation earlier this week after more than 70 bus drivers quit over the weekend due to forced vaccinations by the school system.
Left without enough bus drivers, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is in talks with Lyft and Uber to pick up the slack, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. have the employment status of independent contractors and do not have to be vaccinated under their company policies.
Lightfoot declared “this is an all-hands-on-deck moment” after some parents learned that bus routes were unstaffed.
Some 90 drivers quit between Aug. 23and Aug. 27, according to the Chicago Public Schools. About 70 of those drivers quit on the same day, Fox News reported.
“According to the bus companies, the rush of resignations was likely driven by the vaccination requirements,” the school district said.
Thousands of Chicago Public Schools families rush to find transportation on Aug. 30, the first day of school, because of the mass bus driver resignation triggered by a vaccine mandate.
Journalist Nader Issa, who covers Chicago schools for the Chicago Sun-Times, tweeted, “Mayor Lori Lightfoot says her administration is asking Lyft and Uber to help take kids to school after 73 bus drivers quit, supposedly over Chicago Public Schools’ vaccine mandate”.
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The bus driver shortage came as a shock to parents. More than 2,000 students, including 990 in special education, were given no more than two days’ notice that their bus route no longer existed, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Under the Chicago Public Schools vaccine mandate, all employees and contractors must get shots by Oct. 15. The requirement was announced more than two weeks ago.
Across the country, workers are rejecting employer vaccine mandates. A recent study by Qualtrics, an experience management company, found that that 44 percent of employees would quit if ordered to get vaccinated, according to the responses to a survey.
