BRATTLEBORO-The wheels are back on the bus, as Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) bus company TravelKuz and bus drivers' union, Teamsters Local 597, have reached an accord.
"Teamsters Local 597 is happy to have a tentative agreement to vote on and is looking forward to holding a vote on it soon," said Union President Curtis Clough Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 17.
Earlier this week, before press time, Clough told The Commons that school district drivers were prepared to "engage in an unfair labor practice strike" on Thursday if one major sticking point was not resolved by Wednesday night, but that if it were resolved, drivers were ready to accept a new, five-year contract.
He said the only issue remaining since the union and bus company retired to the bargaining table last week, after a brief start-of-school driver lockout, 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.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement for our valued employees and remain committed to providing safe, reliable transportation for our students, schools and communities," said TravelKuz Vice President of Operations Scott Sheridan in a press release Wednesday.
Read the full story in our Sept. 24 issue.
This News item by was written for The Commons.