Rockville Centre Ends Contract With School Bus Company As Strike Continues
TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A school bus strike continues on Long Island, with the next round of talks not expected until after Thanksgiving.
Rockville Centre school board trustees have decided to end their contract with Bauman & Sons Buses Inc., WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
TWU Local 252 President Debra Haggins says the move helps the striking drivers, who can now apply to another company with better benefits.
"We've got guaranteed weeks put into the contract. They get unlimited snow days, they get an additional sick day, they have the benefits that we are trying to get for these members here," she told Diamond.
Other union members have crossed the picket line.
"Because they just feel broken," Haggins said.
Bauman's president says the union has made unreasonable salary demands.
Union workers want a guaranteed five days of work, sick days and a pay increase. The two sides disagree about wage increases and payment for transporting students on field trips.
The next round of talks with a federal mediator is scheduled for November 28.
More than 20,000 students in the Freeport, Baldwin, Hicksville and Rockville Centre districts in Nassau County have been affected.
