School buses.Photo:getty
getty
A group of Missouri school bus drivers have staged a “sick out” after a Black employee allegedly found a noose near his workstation.
Mitchell claimed he found the noose following an argument with a supervisor, perThe Kansas City Star.
On Thursday, Mitchell sharedtwo videos on Facebookthat appear to show the noose lying on the ground near the station.
In his post, Mitchell claimed he has “been filing prejudice complaints” against two of his supervisors since he first took the job. He also claimed to file a complaint with human resources “at least twice a week” regarding “equality.”
“Today I had enough!” the mechanic wrote on Thursday. He later added, “Something needs to be done ASAP!”
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Most after-school activitieswere canceledMonday and Tuesday as a result of the walk-out. In the meantime, the district said school officials are “looking for ways to make the best of a bad situation.”
“Regarding bus service to and from school, we are simply unable to predict what will happen,” St. Louis Public Schools said in Monday’s statement.
In a subsequent statement, shared Tuesday, the district said Missouri Central informed them that the “troubling allegations” include issues of a “racially charged nature,” and that a third-party investigator is looking into the case.
Scott Allen, Regional Operations Manager at Missouri Central Bus Company, said in a statement to PEOPLE, “At Missouri Central, our policy is to provide and foster a work environment that is welcoming to all regardless of age, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.”
He added, “There is zero tolerance for any behavior that violates this policy. As such, we have hired an independent third party to investigate these allegations, and we will take whatever action is deemed necessary based on what we learn. We are working diligently to minimize service disruptions for our students, families and administrators as we understand how important it is for our children to be educated.”
This is just the second year Missouri Central has served St. Louis Public Schools, according to thePost-Dispatch. A separate issue arose in August 2022 when the business failed to hire enough drivers for the allotted routes, leading the district to suspend service to six local high schools.
source: people.com
