BRATTLEBORO-It took one lockout and a threatened strike, but now the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union's (WSESU) bus company, TravelKuz, and bus drivers' union, Teamsters Local 597, have signed a five-year agreement that will last through June 30, 2030.
"I think that this is going to be a good milestone for the drivers that work for the district, and it should work out well for everybody," Teamsters Local 597 President Curtis Clough said Monday, Sept. 22.
"I'm glad it worked out well, and I appreciate the support of the community, and the drivers and monitors appreciate the support of the community," he added. "We're happy to be moving forward with a new contract."
TravelKuz, owned by Beacon Mobility, serves the WSESU's 10 schools in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney, and Vernon.
The company's senior vice president of operations, Scott Sheridan, said that the company was "pleased to have reached an agreement for our valued employees and remain committed to providing safe, reliable transportation for our students, schools, and communities."
Drivers' gains
The new contract agreed to by the union is an economic gain for drivers and includes 20% higher pay starting day one of the contract and a roughly 26% increase for senior drivers over a five-year span.
In the new agreement, new drivers will spend less time - three years rather than four years - before receiving the new, highest rate. And monitors will see a 21% increase over the duration of the agreement.
Furthermore, the employer will be required to pay a penalty to an affected employee starting Sept. 1, 2026, whenever an employee is shorted $100 or more in a pay period, unless the shortage is rectified within one business day.
The contract also includes increased longevity bonuses and attendance bonuses for drivers and better cost-sharing for health insurance costs as well as a provision to double the company's retirement contribution by the end of the agreement.
A strike averted
At the start of last week, Clough had told The Commons drivers were prepared to "engage in an unfair labor practice strike" that Thursday, Sept. 18, if the one major sticking point was not resolved by Wednesday night, Sept. 17.
The two sides reached a tentative agreement that Wednesday afternoon, and the strike was averted.
At issue was that TravelKuz wanted union members to give up their rights to refuse to cross picket lines - an issue Clough said had not been in contention until negotiations resumed following a brief start-of-school driver lockout.
Clough told The Commons that the union did prevail in keeping the picket language as negotiated earlier, before TravelKuz made it a sticking point.
With the strike looming, Sheridan parried Clough's and the Union's allegation.
"To date, TravelKuz and the teamsters have agreed to all economic and financial proposals for the drivers and monitors," Sheridan wrote.
"Sadly, the Teamsters are still threatening to strike beginning Thursday, not over pay or benefits, but over a demand for contract language that would allow Brattleboro drivers and monitors to walk off the job if any other Teamster unit, anywhere in the country, initiates a strike," his earlier statement continued.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.