School bus driver strike is ‘all but imminent’ in Seattle

Seattle education officials are warning families that school bus service may be disrupted as soon as Tuesday.

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First Student, the company that runs buses for Seattle Public Schools, made a contract offer to its drivers’ union, but that offer was voted down on Saturday, Jan. 6. It has left the status of Seattle’s yellow school bus services in limbo. Normal bus service was expected Monday but according to the union’s website, a strike could be next. Now Seattle Public Schools is asking families to be prepared for a strike.

The website for the Teamsters Union Local 174 states:

At a meeting that filled nearly every seat in the Local 174 Union auditorium, First Student school bus drivers voted by a margin of 85 percent to reject the most recent offer made by their employer. Now that this offer has been rejected, a protracted strike by the group of over 400 drivers is all but imminent, barring a new, better offer from First Student.

The same union went on strike in November 2017. It lasted one day and left 12,000 students without transportation to classes. For that strike, the drivers’ union announced in advance that bus service would not be available to families. The strike was put on hold as contract negotiations continued. With the recent vote, the strike could be on once again.

According to the Teamsters, drivers were unhappy with the proposal provided by First Student — it did not include a pension plan and it did not offer healthcare coverage to spouses and family members.

Driver Alex Benge, a shop steward at First Student’s South Park location, is quoted on the union’s website: “This company is the Wal-Mart of school transportation, and we need to say it loud and clear: we are not okay with that. We cannot wait – we need to do this now.”

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