Lakewood, NJ – Bus drivers who work Thanksgiving transporting Orthodox Jewish children to school were treated to a pumpkin pie Wednesday as a token of appreciation from the school board attorney.
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Michael Inzelbuch, attorney for the township Board of Education, purchased 325 pies and distributed them to the drivers and aids who will work on the holiday. The pies were delivered to the school board office on Route 9 and were picked up by drivers Wednesday morning.
The distribution of pies comes after public outcry over school district officials requiring bus drivers to work Thanksgiving. Inzelbuch said he offered the pies in an attempt to smooth relations.
“Lakewood is love,” Inzelbuch said, when he announced he would buy each driver a pie.
This is a double busha in front of the goyim. First, making the bus drivers work on a secular holiday with religious importance to many goyim. Second, these pies did not have hashgacha, chassideshe or otherwise.
a pie that is nice LOL
but I guess maybe the drivers get overtime pay so not a bad deal for them
Timmy A Tova what an insult to force these people to work on Thanksgiving and expecting a cheap pie to smooth things over!
The Lakewood frum community is officially an embarrassment. I cannot believe they will go ahead with the bussing tomorrow.
I read one article about this. Here is a small snippet “About 50% of those requesting PM busing are high schools with late ending times that make it extremely inconvenient for parents to pick up their children.” Funny it inconveniences the parents b/c of the lateness but who cares about the bus drivers on their Holiday during the holiday dinner!! Ridiculous!
Somehow someway this will come back to bite Lakewood or frum people elsewhere.
I also expect the law to be changed next year so this does not happen again.
“Hey Mr busdriver! As a thank you for working on your holiday, here’s a piece of dough with sauce and cheese on it!”
Pathetic
What a disgrace!
These bus drivers are sure lucky they don’t work at Walmart!
I would like to know how the bus drivers feel about this. Sometimes they don’t mind if they’re getting paid a good amount of overtime.
But….how many stories have we heard about new immigrants who were fired from their jobs because they wouldn’t work on Shabbos? Those people who quit because they wouldn’t work on Shabbos are looked upon as heroes-as they should be. But why would a community whose ancestors went through that do the the same thing to others? Why make them work on their holiday? A true double standard and very disrespecful.
When the bus drivers were hired originally, I am sure they were given the terms of their contract which probably let them know that they were going to have to work on thanksgiving, so this didn’t come as a surprise to them and they must have agreed to those terms. Also maybe they are getting extra pay for doing so. So why is everyone so concerned that they’re working tomorrow and getting a free pie besides?
lo miduvsheich v’lo meuvteich just give me the day off!
Before any turkey celebrators cry in their gravy over this, you need to keep in mind this was NEGOTIATED into a contract so this was known for a while. This was nothing new. Dont feel bad for the drivers and their companies.
I think that you guys are making a big mistake by not seeing the world thrue the eyes of the busdrivers . Instead you are viewing it thrue your own. I will explain Most bus drivers get paid for runs. Being that thay are not typically highly paid and like most people need $ to cover expences thay most surely apreteate the extra work (and the pie). I own a small business and allways look foward to legal holidays but without fail by each one a group of my employees want to work and we end up staying open
Did Inzelbuch get reimbursed? Is he billing the Board for for them? Is the ultimate purchaser of the pies the taxpayer?
Why are people using the term “it’s their holiday”? Thanksgiving is YOUR holiday too! Are you not citizens of this country? It’s not a religious holiday, but a national holiday for ALL Americans to appreciate the birth and unity of this country. Frum Jews should be the first ones celebrating this holiday, considering the history of Jews in all other countries, while in the U.S. we forget what the concept of golus even is because we have it easy, safe and to a point extremely pampered life here in the U.S. better than for Jews in Israel.
I hope that when some boss out there recalls this story and tells his frum employee that he must work on Pesach, but is planning on giving him a box of Streits Matzah in appreciation, that employee will be one of the Lakewood parents that egged this embarrassing situation on.
Did any one actually follow the link and READ the entire article in the Asbury Park Press. “Lakewood is Love” Inzelbuch claims, oh pleas and then the article goes on to say that Inzelbuch will celebrate Thanksgiving with his wife?????? Now if that is not chutpah, I don’t know what is. Posters here have repeatedly said that Thanksgiving is “their holiday” referring to the bus drivers. Meaning it is isn’t “ours” because we’re Jews and we don’t celebrate this “goyische” (hate that term) holiday. But this frum yid is celebrating Thanksgiving with his wife?////
Chutzpah doesnt begin to cover this.
Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday, it is a celebration of this country, which we live in and are a part of. My very frum and chashuv Yerushalmi grandparents, who were well respected throughout the Jewish community, raised a family in the US and celebrated Thanksgiving every single year. They were extremely grateful for our freedom and wanted to make sure that they passed on the midah of gratitude. Thanksgiving was always fun and our celebrations created many wonderful memories. It was nice and different enjoying a “yom tov”, without the restrictions of ovens, lights etc. that we typically have.
My boss wouldn’t let me take off 1 hour early on the first night of Chanukah even though I told him I’d make up the time. He felt a little guilty about it so he bought me some latkes. You don’t want to know where I wanted to put those latkes.
Was your boss frum?
Not so long ago everyone worked on Thanksgiving and at night went home to eat their turkeys. Im talking in the non Jewish world. As frum yidden we are forbidden to eat turkey Thanksgiving according to many Rabbonim. Why should it take a whole day to prepare a turkey and if you dont cook you can go to a resteraunt and order it on the menu. Why do we need so many days off in America, which only drums up business for shrinks as people get depressed from doing nothing. I for one will eat pizza on Thanksgiving. Its a chogah and AS stated many great Rabbonim consider it Avodah zorah.
I am the manager for an orthodox Jewish business. Holiday time around my offices…well it goes like this: Employees get off for mostly all Federal holidays (Labor Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, New Years, Xmas), and they get off for the Jewish Holidays. Respect is a two way street. If you hire those who aren’t the same faith and you insist they come in on their holiday, give them time and a half or double time. And I will be celebrating Thanksgiving this year like I have done so since I was a child.
“Lakewood is Love..”
I almost choked on my bagel…