After many weeks of contentious bargaining, a Vermont bus workers union and a Massachusetts bus transportation company came to a tentative contract agreement Wednesday evening, narrowly averting a strike.
Teamsters Local 597, the union representing Vermont bus drivers and monitors serving the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, planned to strike Thursday. This came after the bus company Travel Kuz — affiliated with Beacon Mobility — pitched a proposal that would remove worker protections to honor picket lines in other locations.
“The employer has withdrawn the last proposal and has agreed to maintain the status quo,” Teamsters Local 597 President Curtis Clough said.
Scott Sheridan, vice president of operations for Travel Kuz, wrote in a statement Wednesday evening that the company is “pleased to have reached an agreement for our valued employees and remain committed to providing safe, reliable transportation for our students, schools and communities.”
In August, contract talks broke down when the company locked out bus drivers and monitors to prevent them from working, and union members started picketing before the school year started.
During the work stoppage, Travel Kuz brought in replacement workers to serve the supervisory union’s 10 schools in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney and Vernon. The company accused Teamsters Local 597 workers of unlawful picketing and endangering students, which was disputed by the union president and law enforcement. Travel Kuz ended the lockout Sept. 2, and bargaining resumed.
The tentative agreement, reached Wednesday, would ensure improved cost share for employees’ health insurance and the employer contribution to employees’ retirement accounts will double by the end of contract, Clough said.
Union members plan to vote on whether to ratify the contract in the coming days, Clough said.
Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Superintendent Mark Speno wrote in a Thursday statement that he is grateful that bargaining led to a tentative agreement between the parties, and the school community is ready to move forward.
“We are happy to hear that negotiations have led to an agreed upon contract that we expect and trust will be ratified shortly,” Speno wrote.
