Possible NYC school bus driver strike looms ahead of new school year
NEW YORK (PIX11) -- A possible school bus driver strike looms in New York City just days before the start of the new school year.
If the strike happens, thousands of New York City students could be impacted. There is a backup contingency plan for them, but some parents are unsure about it.
At the Atlantic Diner in in Richmond Hill, Queens, Danielle Lopez works one of her three jobs. She is a waitress and a mother of three children, as well as the secretary of the parent-teacher association at a nearby school. Lopez said balancing all the responsibilities will be almost impossible if New York City school bus drivers go on strike.
"Everybody is going crazy," Lopez said. "They are trying to email the [Office of Pupil Transportation] trying to find out what's going on with their kids, if the buses are going to pick them up. Nobody knows anything, especially parents of kids with special needs and disabilities. No parents are getting emails. Nobody is answering the phones. They don’t know what’s going on."
Earlier this summer, bus drivers from some of the bus companies represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 voted to authorize a strike on the first day of school if they can't reach a contract deal with the Department of Education. The union argues that the drivers need pay increases.
At a bus depot in Queens, drivers have been reporting to work for now, but the on-site manager said he could not comment on the possible strike. PIX11 News also reached out to the union and was told it is actively negotiating and could not comment for now.
"This is all about money," Lopez said. "This is all about the labor laws. They want more. The board of education, I blame them, because this should've been done before school even ended."
The Department of Education emailed parents to notify them of a possible disruption in the yellow bus service. Authorities announced a plan to issue emergency MetroCards to all impacted families. Some will be eligible for reimbursement for taxis, ride shares and personal vehicles due to the strike that would impact 80,000 students.
The last time bus drivers went on strike was a decade ago in January 2013. Lopez is hoping that doesn't happen again.
"If you have kids who are handicapped or disabled, how are they going to get on the bus? As a single mother, I work. I have to be at work at a certain time. I would have to wake them up two hours before just to get them on the bus in transportation to get them to school on time," Lopez said.
The first day of classes for New York City public schools is Thursday, Sept. 7.