“I saw it coming, but not like this” Mat-Su school bus drivers walk off job Tuesday morning, leaving parents and students scrambling

Tuesday morning, after dropping students off at school throughout the district, school bus drivers for Durham School Services walked off the job in an “unfair labor practice strike.”

The strike, not entirely unexpected, comes after the bargaining committee received a last, best final offer from Durham Bus Services during negotiations January 30. The drivers had previously voted 98% to authorize a strike.

“Student safety is a top priority for school bus workers and continual issues surrounding buses have not been addressed by Durham. Hours of planning and consideration were spent before the decision of when to start the strike. Because of this our school bus drivers made sure that all students were dropped off at their respective schools prior to the strike beginning,” wrote Patrick FitzGerald, a representative from Teamsters Local 959, in the official statement released Tuesday morning.

Durham School Services representative Ed Flavin released a statement Tuesday stating: “Teamsters 959 decided to call a strike to start after students had already arrived at school facilities for the day. Teamsters 959 made the decision to abandon the students at school and then strike.”

The Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) addressed the strike, expressing disappointment that the local Teamsters Union chose to strike with no advanced notice to the District after delivering students to school.

Late Tuesday afternoon, MSBSD put out a statement that schools will be open Wednesday with no bus services for all schools except Glacier View School, Su-Valley Jr/Sr High School, Talkeetna Elementary, Trapper Creek Elementary, and Willow Elementary due to the Teamster’s strike.

“If your child will not be able to attend school, they will be given an opportunity to make-up any schoolwork they miss. Please contact your child’s school for specific information regarding make-up work.”

Durham says that they are working with MSBSD on staffing plans and coverage for the school days ahead and that some employees have expressed their intention to keep working.

“Our commitment to the children, school district, and community are unwavering and our goal is to minimize disruption to the families of the Mat-Su Valley Community.”

The final offer presented by Durham presented included Wage increases of 8% to nearly 14%, retroactive to August 1, 2022, and additional money in year’s two and three; $1,500 upon ratification to each employee; 7 insurance plans to choose among, Durham pays 75% toward employee coverage; fully paid weather cancelation days; daily guarantees increased from 4 hours to 6 hours for drivers and attendants/monitors, and 7 hours to 8 hours for standby drivers; and FMLA qualifying hours reduced to 700 (from1250 hours), making it easier to access this benefit.

“Several attempts to bring in a federal mediator to assist with negotiations were rejected by the Union. Yesterday, Durham gave the Union its final offer and we were waiting for the results of the employees' vote and have now learned that no meeting was held for an employee vote,” the statement read.

Drivers have complained of failure to address mechanical issues with buses, lack of electrical outlets to plug buses in overnight, which prevent cold starts to the buses that can damage engines, and buses failing to warm or defrost leading to an outcry from drivers, monitors, and attendants for Durham to make improvements. There were also recruitment and retainment issues, along with calls for wage increases that drivers wanted to address.

For parents who rely on buses to transport their children to and from school, the strike caused disruptions as many had to scramble to find a way to pick up their children from school.

“Why did they wait till all the kids were at school?” asked Paige Yeager, a Houston parent. “If they want these parents on their side why take the kids and then abandon them at school with no way home?” She was one of hundreds who took to social media to express their frustration.

“I was all for the strike and I understand why they did it but to do it the way they did I'm not so supportive now. I saw it coming, but not like this.”

Meanwhile, the strike has affected extracurricular and after-school activities that also rely on Durham and the bus drivers, including hundreds of students who had planned to attend a production of “Tarzan” at the Glen Massey Theater Tuesday morning. While the Seims Production Company still performed for an audience of 4 that had come in from Anchorage, they also invited students who were able to attend a 2:00 pm show Tuesday afternoon.

Also affected by the strike are the Hockey teams from Houston Jr/Sr High School and Palmer High School, who both are utilizing tour buses to transport the teams to the state hockey tournament Wednesday.

“We paid for the upgrade with our fundraising and sponsorships,” said Houston Jr/Sr High administrator Lisa Humphreys, who added that they had already planned to use Premier buses prior to the strike announcement.

“Our parents would have driven our kids, if it came down to it. Or we’d fly! Houston finds a way-we overcome!”

Palmer also had a tour bus ready for transportation to the state hockey tournament but will need to make arrangements for 11 Durham buses that were scheduled for other teams between Wednesday and Monday.

Meanwhile, Local 959 acknowledges that this will be a major inconvenience to families and asks the community stand with the school bus workers in solidarity.

“When Durham places so little value on its workers that it forces the disruption of community service, which our members have such a passion for, the only choice is to strike.”

As of Wednesday moring, Durham Bus Services has not reached out to Teamsters Local 959 for negotiations.