PALMER — A more than eight-week Mat-Su school bus worker strike could end early next week if employees approve a contract, restoring bus service for the final weeks of the school year.
Durham School Services and Teamsters Local 959 reached a tentative contract agreement Wednesday, according to a Teamsters statement. The deal comes after weeks of on-again, off-again negotiations, including two days of talks this week.
Union members will meet this week to vote on the tentative agreement, union officials said.
If approved, about 230 Durham bus drivers, monitors and attendants would return to work, with school bus routes running early next week, the statement said.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District officials said they were notified of the tentative agreement and expect regular bus service to restart Tuesday. Union officials said service could return as soon as Monday.
Workers first walked off the job March 2 following a 10-day strike notice. A contract between Durham and the workers expired in early February.
"Teamsters want to thank the families of the Mat-Su Valley for their patience during this strike and understand the stress it has put on so many families. If ratified, this contract will improve the procedures, training, and culture that will lead to safer busing for the Mat-Su School District," union officials said in the statement.
Contract negotiations between Durham and the Teamsters focused on a range of training, safety and wage- or benefit-related issues, including whether employees must pay out of pocket for additional health screenings required by Durham but not by state rules, union and Durham officials said in a series of statements since February.
Durham officials said they believed the proposed deal will be welcomed by the union members.
"Wage and insurance concerns were both addressed, and both parties are satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations," they said in a statement. "We want the very best for our drivers and want them to be the safest on the road for our students."
About 18,000 Mat-Su students are without bus service because of the strike, Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District officials said last month.
A previous strike in 2023 lasted just over four weeks and came after months of rotating no-bus service days for students triggered by insufficient staffing.
The district saves about $100,000 each day buses do not run, administrators told the school board during a meeting last month. It spends about $20 million each year on student transportation, with about $3.5 million coming from local taxpayers and the rest from the state, officials said during the meeting.
Any money saved as a result of the strike will go toward future transportation costs, they said.
This story was originally published by the Mat-Su Sentinel and is republished here with permission.
This story was updated April 29 to include a statement from Durham School Services.
