Somali bus drivers file discrimination claims against employers

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced Friday that the group has filed claims of discrimination and unfair labor practices on behalf of 15 Somali bus drivers fired by Monarch Bus Service and Minneapolis & Suburban Bus Co.

The companies fired the drivers when they formed a group called United Community of Drivers to negotiate work conditions and curtail discrimination, said complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.

"The companies' owners refused to listen to them. They told them to leave. They said they were going to call the police if they didn't leave," said Ellen Longfellow, the civil rights attorney for CAIR-MN. "So clearly that is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act, which allows groups of employees to form groups to talk to employers about working conditions."

Monarch Bus Service serves St. Paul Public Schools. Minneapolis & Suburban Bus Co. serves the Minneapolis School District. Both also provide transportation for charter and private schools in the Twin Cities.

The leader of the group, Mahmud Kanyare, said Somali bus drivers — unlike their white or black co-workers — were assigned to drive old buses that were constantly in disrepair. The buses weren't heated in the winter, putting schoolchildren at risk and causing complaints from parents.

"We are not transporting cattle," Kanyare said. "We are transporting children, who are the future of this beautiful country."

Kanyare said the group was also verbally abused by supervisors, denied wages and subjected to arbitrarily reduced hours.

"They made us seem like we are second-class citizens," said Mohamed Ali, who had worked as a bus driver for almost three years. "We've been working for our children and we want fair work conditions as employees of Monarch Bus Services."

A statement from Monarch Bus Service and Minneapolis & Suburban Bus Co. said the drivers' claims are unfounded.

"We are safe, responsible transporters of Minneapolis schoolchildren and good, responsible, sympathetic employers," the statement said. "Our two companies take great pride in our multicultural workforces and the considerable efforts we make to understand and accommodate our many Somali employees."

The group expects a ruling from the NLRB within the next three months. Longfellow said the group is looking for acknowledgment of the discrimination they say they experienced.

"I think that the best possible outcome would be some compensation for the drivers and if any of them wanted their jobs back — I don't think any of them do at this point. Some of them might go back if the problems were fixed," Longfellow said. "They heard that there may have been changes at the company, and they feel good because it might be a result of that."

Zoë Peterson is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.