Schools
Seattle School Bus Drivers Will Strike Thursday: Teamsters
The bus drivers are in the middle of a dispute with Seattle's bus service provider, First Student.
SEATTLE, WA - Seattle school bus drivers will strike on Thursday, the latest turn in a labor dispute with the school district's bus service provider, First Student. This will be the second strike for bus drivers over the last few months. A one-day Nov. 29 strike was held at the district's school bus lot in South Park.
Here's more from Teamsters Local 174, the union representing the bus drivers, on the Feb. 1 strike:
Beginning Thursday morning, February 1, Teamsters Local 174 school bus drivers at First Student in Seattle will be on Unfair Labor Practice strike. The strike by the group of 400 First Student school bus drivers will likely impact all yellow bus service to the Seattle School District, and will last until a deal is reached with First Student. Teamsters Local 174 does not typically announce strikes in advance; however, the Union and its members wished to give Seattle parents adequate notice to make arrangements for their children.
The drivers have been in ongoing negotiations with First Student over healthcare and retirement benefits since last summer. They participated in a one-day Unfair Labor Practice strike on November 29 after their employer unilaterally implemented an inferior healthcare plan that had not been negotiated with the Teamsters. This strike received a great deal of support from the Seattle community. Since then, First Student has not resolved any of the Unfair Labor Practices they had previously committed, including the unilateral implementation of the substandard healthcare plan.
On January 6, the drivers gathered at the Local 174 Union hall to vote on the latest proposal from their employer, which included some healthcare coverage for individuals but was outrageously unaffordable for anyone with a spouse or children to insure, and included nothing in the way of retirement benefits. The proposal did not come with a recommendation from the drivers’ elected Bargaining Committee, and was rejected by a margin of 85%.
Image courtesy YouTube.com
Find out what's happening in Seattlefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
