NYC school bus drivers could go on strike, Chancellor David Banks warns parents of 150K students
A looming school-bus-driver strike could impact up to 150,000 city students, according to Big Apple schoolꦑs Chancellor David Banks.
The city’s negotiations with Amalgamated Transꦍit Union are co𝔍ntinuing, with both sides well aware that Sept. 7 is the first day of classes for public schools, he said.
“So, I don’t want to jump the gun yet, just to know that we𓆏 have negotiated every day with the union trying to get a deal done, certainly are hopeful,” Banks said during a last week.
“But there is a possibility that we might have an act♏ion with buses at beginnin𒊎g of the school year.”
The city contingency’s plans in case of a driver strike include giving students MetroCards and “reimbursement for use of alternative transportation” that could include “free ride-share” in some cases, added Department of Education spokesman Nathaniel Styer, according to Chalkbeat
Local 1181 represents many of the drivers and covers roughly 9,000 routes throughout the five boroughs.
“The Union is fighting to get🐽 back what members previously had and everything they lost,” the union wrote in a newsletter. “A fair contract for all senior and new members is the answer to making school bus a career again.”
If a strike went forward, it would be the first since January 2013.