PALMER – Mat-Su school bus drivers and workers plan to walk off the job as soon as March 2 as contract negotiations between their union and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s bus contractor remain stalled.
Teamsters Local 959 issued a 10-day strike notice to Durham School Services on Wednesday after members voted to reject the company’s final offer during a meeting Monday, union spokesperson Patrick FitzGerald said in an interview. The previous contract expired Feb. 4.
The Teamsters’ contract with Durham requires a 10-day notice. A strike can start any time after that 10-day window, FitzGerald said. Parents and Mat-Su school officials will be warned of a pending walkout so they can make alternate plans, he said.
Officials with Chicago-based Summit School Services, which owns Durham, said they are available to meet in late March on dates they say were first proposed by the union, as long as a federal mediator is brought in to assist with the talks, according to a statement released last week. They are holding those dates open and are waiting to hear back from the union on whether they will meet, they said this week.
Union officials said in a letter sent to Durham’s negotiator Wednesday and published on Facebook that they welcome a federal mediator but are unwilling to delay talks beyond next week.
Durham negotiators refused to meet for contract negotiations this month after they were unable to come to an agreement early this year, union officials said in an interview.
Ongoing contract disagreements center on Durham’s demand that workers pay out of pocket for additional medical screenings, paid cancellation days, and wages — particularly those for monitors and attendants — and certain standards for training, safety, and professional development, according to the Teamsters letter.
Durham’s contract with the Mat-Su workers expired Feb. 4.
Mat-Su school bus workers last walked out 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.
About 230 Durham employees are members of the union and include bus drivers, monitors, and attendants, FitzGerald said in an interview last month.
Mat-Su School District officials said last month they may consider giving gas gift cards to some parents if school buses stop running during a strike. Whether such a step is possible is still under review, Deputy Superintendent Katie Gardner said in an interview after a Mat-Su School Board meeting Wednesday.
Gardner said she is disappointed the union and Durham have not yet reached an agreement.
“The Teamsters need to go back to the table,” she said.
This story originally appeared in the Mat-Su Sentinel and is republished here with permission.
