New York legislature passes laws to support school staff!
Thanks to everyone who pushed to improve safety and workplace conditions, especially to the hundreds who turned out to lobby at the State Capitol, both houses of the NYS legislature have passed two bills designed to help school staff. Now all that's required is the governor's signature to make these bills into laws.
Passed
This law adds school districts to the list of employers required to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence. It also authorizes public employees who see a serious violation of safety or health standards to request an inspection by the department of labor.
The passing of the bills through the legislation will lead to safer working conditions for our members and in turn safer for the students.
Passed
This allows school buses to be fitted with cameras on their “STOP” sign arms. The cameras would capture the image and license numbers of scofflaws — who pass buses 50,000 times a day in the state — and bring them to justice.
I feel that passage of the bill regarding cameras on the stop arms is a huge step in helping to reduce the occurrences of vehicles passing through our lights. When people start receiving fines, I hope they will stop and realize the danger they are subjecting on our students. If we could reduce or eliminate this problem, it would be such a significant step in protecting our children.
