With contract talks stalled, thousands of school bus drivers and attendants voted Wednesday to authorize a strike against Reliant Transportation, city schools’ largest bus operator, union officials said.
Two thousand workers from the Amalgamated Transit Union’s Local 1181 voted overwhelmingly to authorize the strike against their employer, which operates about 900 of the city’s more than 8,000 school bus routes.
Reliant Denies Driver’s Fair Medical and Pension Benefits
“Strikes are always a last resort for our members,” said Michael Cordiello, President of ATU Local 1181. “However, without further progress on medical coverage and pension funding through negotiations, our members will be left with no choice but to go on strike to protect their health and hard-earned retirement and secure a fair contract.”
Union spokesman Nico Ericksen-Deriso said the next step is for a union steering committee to approve the vote and lay out a timeline for a potential strike.
The union has been in contract negotiations for nine months, and is at an impasse over medical benefits and pension contributions, officials said. Drivers are currently working without a contract.
Union officials said Reliant’s latest contract offer would reduce drivers’ medical benefits and wouldn’t keep pace with other companies’ pension contributions.
Reliant could not be immediately reached for comment.
This Article was written by Michael Elsen-Rooney and published in the New York Daily News on January 22, 2020.