A college bus driver strike was narrowly averted within the Framingham School District as negotiators agreed on a brand new contract Sunday night, however no such consensus was reached in Marlboro and Westboro as of 8 p.m., leaving the scheduled strike Monday morning impending.
“We were prepared for the worst but hoping for the best, and it turns out the best has come to fruition,” Framingham Superintendent Robert Tremblay stated at a 6 p.m. metropolis press occasion Sunday.
The transportation firm for the three faculty districts, NRT Bus, and representatives from the Teamsters Local 170 union representing the drivers remained within the trenches of contract negotiations Sunday within the wake of the union’s strike vote final week.
The sides have been in negotiations since January 2023, in keeping with an NRT assertion.
Framingham public officers have been overlaying preparations to move hundreds of scholars to high school Monday morning after they acquired the information that the negotiators reached a deal for a brand new contract. The officers couldn’t present particulars of the brand new contract Sunday evening — together with the size of the contract or any provisions inside — however stated the information was a aid.
“The biggest thing was the strike, and now that that’s over, we’re happy,” stated Mayor Charlie Sisitsky.
Wage will increase have been a difficulty all through the negotiations. In an announcement Friday, NRT argued the districts’ drivers have already got “pay rates that place them in the top 10% of driver wages across the State of Massachusetts.” Framingham drivers made $29 an hour, Marlboro $34.00 an hour and Westboro $31.93 an hour, in keeping with the corporate.
Both Westborough and Marlborough have indicated an intention to maintain colleges open if the drivers go on strike.
Marlboro Public Schools has posted contingency plans on the district web site. The district may have police and faculty employees out to help college students inside strolling distance from their faculty, a restricted variety of bus routes and transportation for all particular training college students, the district detailed.
During the strike, the district stated, college students who can not make it to high school is not going to be penalized for his or her absence.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”