CENTRAL - School bus drivers in Central are calling for a safer and cleaner work environment after raccoons recently managed to get on the buses. 

On Tuesday, bus drivers with First Student met with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) to take action for safer and more sanitary work environments as they enter the early stages of contract negotiations.

Stanley Smalls, senior organizer for ATU, said bus drivers are "forced to clean bodily fluids such as blood and vomit using nothing more than cat litter," and then continue their shifts. Drivers also report dealing with raccoon infestations and are told to handle the situation using only wipes.

"They're tasked with the responsibility to transport school-aged children who's susceptible to all these types of germs -- especially if there's raccoons or any kind of wildlife entering the bus overnight for whatever reason, those buses should be thoroughly sanitized before you put someone's child on there," Smalls said. "The mindset from First Student was oh well we'll give them a wipe."

Messes are prone to happening when transporting young children, but drivers said they're not provided with any cleaning supplies and have to pay out of pocket for them, and that they're "fed up with the lazy approach to safety by First Student."

"There should be a real cleaning crew hired every night to clean these buses thoroughly and park them in an area where if a raccoon is looking for food, they won't find it in a bus because before the bus was parked it was thoroughly cleaned,” Smalls said.

Negotiations between the union and First Student began, but it took nearly three hours for negotiators to enter the room. Before they did, they asked that WBRZ remove the camera or they wouldn't start. 

Tuesday's negotiations also included discussions about pay, with ATU claiming the drivers are not getting the minimum hours of work they were promised. 

"Only to find out that it's not accurate information, and when we approached the company on what their response was ‘we can address it in negotiation,’" Smalls said.

The First Student website states that drivers are guaranteed a minimum of 27.5 hours per week.

First Student representatives denied any guarantee. 

Union members are also calling for accountability from the school district, urging its administrators to become actively involved in ensuring safe and sanitary conditions on school buses.

Negotiations are expected to continue for the next few days.