PALMER — Members of a union representing Matanuska-Susitna Borough school bus workers have voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations are not finalized by early next month.
The near-unanimous vote came earlier this week in response to bus maintenance concerns – including tire chains and safety inspections – and gaps in new driver training, according to officials with Teamsters Local 959, which represents the bus staff.
While wages are a factor, they are not the primary issue at the negotiating table, said union spokesperson Patrick FitzGerald.
“We need to make sure that the new people coming in are getting trained properly and that they have the tools that they need to do their job successfully,” FitzGerald said.
About 230 Durham employees are members of the union and include bus drivers, monitors and attendants, he said. About 99% of those who voted authorized the strike, he said.
A strike could begin mid-next month if Durham School Services and the union do not reach a settlement before the current contract expires Feb. 4, FitzGerald said.
Negotiations were held on the Mat-Su College campus in Palmer on Wednesday and Thursday with national and local Durham representatives.
Teamsters were notified Thursday morning that two Durham representatives from outside Mat-Su were flying home because they believed roads were too dangerous to travel between Anchorage and Palmer, FitzGerald said. Schools across most of Mat-Su operated on a two-hour delay Thursday due to predicted icy road conditions.
Officials with Summit School Services said they are aware of the strike authorization vote and are continuing with negotiations.
"We are aware of Teamsters Local 959's vote and remain committed to bargaining in good faith with the union," Summit spokesman Edward Flavin said in an email Thursday. "We would like to thank the Mat-Su Borough School District for their continued support as we work through this negotiation to uphold our responsibilities to everyone involved, including the school district, students and their parents, and our employees."
Chicago-based Summit took over Durham in June when its previous owner, National Express, was purchased by I Squared Capital, an investment manager with international holdings. The current employee negotiations are unrelated to that change in ownership, FitzGerald said.
Durham provides bus services to the majority of the Mat-Su School District under a 10-year contract worth at least $188 million. School bus service in the Talkeetna area and Glacier View is provided under separate contracts.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District officials said they are aware of the strike authorization and ongoing negotiations.
“The Mat-Su Borough School District is aware of the ongoing contract negotiations between Durham School Services and Teamsters Local 959 and will communicate directly with families if there are any impacts to transportation,” spokesman John Notestine said in a statement.
The strike would be the second walkout by Mat-Su bus workers in three years. Employees last stopped work in 2023, after Durham and its previous parent company failed to reach an initial contract agreement or address concerns — including bus safety — following five months of negotiations.
That strike, which lasted about six weeks, followed months of reduced bus service caused by a driver shortage and led to an increase in absenteeism as parents and guardians struggled to transport students to school.
Unlike in 2023, when employees began their walkout without warning in the middle of the school day during first-time contract negotiations, any new strike would come with notice requirements under state labor law, union officials said. Durham — and Mat-Su residents — would receive a 10-day warning before a strike begins, they said.
“I would like to be optimistic — we hope that we’ll be able to find common ground,” FitzGerald said.
This story originally appeared in the Mat-Su Sentinel and is republished here with permission.
