Strike is on for Providence bus drivers Thursday

By: News Staff

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – After an unsuccessful meeting Wednesday night, the Providence bus drivers, part of the union Teamsters 251, will be striking Thursday.

Both sides had met one more time to come to a resolution over pensions, but a deal was not agreed upon late Wednesday afternoon

The issue at hand has to do with members of the union wanting to be part of a pension plan, but the Cincinnati-based bus company, First Student, wants employees to invest into a 401k.

This strike doesn’t come out of the blue, as negotiations to settle on retirement benefits have been dragging on for months. 

They said the bus company First Student doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain when it comes to their proposed 401k match.

“Four hours of exploring every type of possibility and the funny thing is every idea came from us,” said Teamsters spokesperson Nick Williams.

“First Student cannot responsibly let its employees participate in such an unfunded program,” said Frank McMahon with First Student.

As the strike looms, Providence Superintendent Christopher Maher is advising parents to come up with a solid plan to get students to and from school.

“It’s a hardship for many of our families, we understand that,” Maher said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “We wish there were other alternatives. There are not we have looked.”

The district admits it has looked into taxis, Uber’s and other bus companies but none can handle the capacity of students that need transportation.

For now, the city is trying to figure out how thousands of students in the district are going to get to school Thursday and as long as this strike lasts, admitting that it has looked into taxis, Ubers and bus companies, but with 9,000 students in the district, it would be hard to have a company get the job done.

“We’ve sent out a number of notices to families at different levels and different times within the last week and a half giving them directions on what information we need from the schools to ensure their child remains safe,” Maher added.

The school is relaxing its tardiness policy and excusing absences during the first three days of the strike.

But now parents like Regina Quines will have to scramble to figure out a way to get her daughter to school.

“Her father is going to have to wake up at least a half hour earlier and he’s going to take her,” she said. “We’re risking a lot of children.”

She is fearful for other parents in the district that might not be able to roll with the punches as easily as her family has.

“It could cause a lot of hardship for people, not just myself,” she said. “Awful thing that’s happening right now.”

Police officers will be posted at each 23 elementary schools and 7 middle schools, along with bus routes, to make sure students walking to school are safe and to help with any traffic issues.

When asked how long the union is willing to strike for, Williams said, “as long as it takes.”

Stay with ABC6 news as we continue to track developments throughout this strike.

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