WILMINGTON, Del. (KYW Newsradio) — A day-long strike involving dozens of bus drivers in Delaware school districts ended Thursday evening.
First Student Corporate Communications Manager Jen Biddinger told KYW Newsradio's Nina Baratti that the company has reached a tentative contract agreement with Teamsters Local 326.
Biddinger said the union has told its drivers to work Friday. Union representative Len McCartney told Nina that members could vote on the final deal at the end of next week, possibly as early as Thursday.
"They go for Christmas break on the 20th, and we're going to try to have it done before then," McCartney said.
The new deal includes what the union calls positive changes to their health care plan, a significant increase in pay and 401k programs, and a pension plan which the union said they basically never had.
Drivers had previously rejected a contract offer from the First Student bus company in a 27-23 vote.
"They needed to be heard and I don't think the company was taking them seriously on what we had proposed. And it definitely moves them forward," said McCartney.
Employees were out Thursday before dawn, many in their yellow safety vests, walking the picket line in front of the First Student bus company yard off of Stanton Christiana Road. The health care and pension plans finally agreed to Thursday night were the main points of conflict for the 62 bus drivers on strike.
Several different school systems rely on the company for transportation. Thousands of families, mainly in school districts in New Castle County, had to find another way to get their students to school and back home Thursday.
Worker grievances
Driver Wilmer Brady said they needed to send a message.
"We're out here because we want better conditions and fair practice. What we want is a little more on our medical. We would like to have a pension," Brady said.
The union had rejected four contract offers so far until their agreement Thursday.
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Coping with disruption
New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District told students at Delcastle Technical High School and Hodgson Vocational Technical High School that they would have a virtual learning day on Thursday. Other schools awarned parents they could face delays as they drop off and pick up their kids Thursday.
Schools and families had already been feeling the effects of the bus driver shortage. The principal at Eastside Charter School, in Wilmington, says they have a program in place to pay parents or guardians to drive their kids in for the school year, at $700 per student. He says the strike should not affect them too badly.
These negotiations had been taking place for quite a while, and academic officials had warned families weeks ago that the strike was a possibility, a strike that ended Thursday night.
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