Framingham School Bus Drivers Get New Contract While Marlborough Drivers Strike

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham school bus drivers will not be on strike starting on Monday after the drivers union and NRT Bus, Inc. reached an agreement on Sunday.

The local School Committee and City Council held an emergency meeting on Saturday to find a way to avoid the strike. Mayor Charlie Sisitsky was able to get both sides back to the negotiating table, which led to the Sunday agreement, city officials said.

Council members voted unanimously to re-bid the bus contract for four years, starting during the 2023-2024 school year. The vote would have been nullified had a strike began on Monday.

The School Committee also voted unanimously to rebid.

Framingham Public Schools is currently in year two of a five-year contract with NRT, who is contracted to provide 77 drivers for 77 bus routes, a number they haven't met the entire school year, officials said.

No strike comes with a sigh of relief for Framingham school officials, who had been in discussions with local agencies to find alternative rides to school for a number of their students.

The district had said that they wouldn't mark students with an unexcused absence if they weren't able to get to school, signaling how disruptive the strike could have been.

Those stresses are going to be felt in Marlborough starting on Monday.

The Teamsters Union Local 170 represents Framingham, Marlborough and Westborough bus drivers.

Union representatives have been negotiating for new driver contracts with NRT in all three cities but those negotiations have not yet borne fruit in Marlborough, and union officials announced that a strike was underway on Monday.

No deal has been brokered yet in Westborough, but, as of Monday morning, drivers haven't gone on strike either.