District officials say students unable to attend school can make up missed work. The abrupt cessation of busing led to a more than 4% rise in absenteeism Wednesday, according to district data. The drivers’ union representative, however, testified Wednesday that they intentionally picked up students before striking to make sure they were safe at school. This week the union faced accusations they “abandoned” students with the midday strike.
#Retired school bus driver resume drivers#
Picketing drivers described compensation below what’s paid to drivers in Anchorage and other parts of the state and no designated bus parking spots at the Wasilla lot, leading to route delays as drivers hunt for the right vehicle. (Loren Holmes / ADN)īus workers voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike in January after months without a contract. The drivers want better wages and other concessions from Durham School Services, which operates school buses for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. “Those children had been outside at the bus stop with no contact because their parents had had to go to work in Anchorage.”ĭurham parent company National Express in a statement Wednesday said the company brought in drivers early to start buses so there was time to address “any cold weather issues,” and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration review in October found the company “had complied with all safety expectations.”īus drivers picket outside the bus barn in Wasilla on Thursday, Jan. “One route was late by 55 minutes because they didn’t assign a driver until the route was already 30 minutes late,” he told the board. Larry Russell, who said he drove tourism buses for 20 years before driving a school bus the last four, said a mechanic couldn’t “clear” his bus after working on coolant and fuel leaks because the computer was down.Īnyone listening to the Durham dispatch radio Tuesday morning would have counted five buses sent out with problems including two without heat and outside temperatures in the 20s, Russell said. On Wednesday night, bus drivers wearing reflective safety vests described a litany of problems: No outside speakers to talk to children crossing streets ongoing mechanical problems that crop up on routes nonfunctional heaters windshield wipers that can’t handle snow. Rolling bus cancellations all year were finally expected to end this week - until the strike was called. The company began the school year with a chaotic start, had a driver charged with sexually abusing a passenger, and struggled to fulfill obligations, leading to more than $1.5 million in lost contract revenues as of January. The strike is the latest problem for Durham, the district’s new transportation contractor. Bus drivers walked off the job in the middle of the school day after failing to come to a contract agreement with Durham School Services, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District's new transportation contractor. 31, 2023 at Colony High School in Palmer. Bus service continues for five schools in the Upper Susitna Valley and for Glacier View, which are serviced by other companies.ĭrivers wait in line to pick up students on Tuesday, Jan. The walkout halted bus service across most of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, with more than 19,000 students that serves an area roughly the size of West Virginia. A representative of Durham’s parent company confirmed the negotiations. The local has agreed to return to the bargaining table starting Friday morning, Teamsters spokesman Patrick FitzGerald said Thursday afternoon. There will be no bus service again for most Mat-Su schools Friday, according to district officials. The strike continued Wednesday and Thursday before union officials announced a resumption of negotiations. Teamsters Local 959 bus workers at a contract impasse with Durham School Services walked off the job Tuesday after dropping students at school in the morning, leaving many families scrambling to get children home from school. Most school board members made it clear they’re not getting involved at this point, despite similar requests from some parents and others in the community. PALMER - As the Mat-Su school bus strike stretched into a third day, bus drivers packed a school board meeting Wednesday evening to vent frustrations and call for district intervention. Striking school bus drivers hold up signs as the testimony timer winds down. Vicki Hewitt, president of the Mat-Su Education Association, leaves the podium after testifying at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District school board meeting Wednesday, Feb. Updated: FebruPublished: February 2, 2023
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