Marlborough school bus strike continues on Tuesday: What to know on Day 2
MARLBOROUGH — The bus driver strike continues in Marlborough for a second day as a deal between the bus drivers and monitors, who are striking, and the school bus vendor remains unfinished.
The drivers are part of Teamsters Local 170, a Worcester-based union that has been representing them during contract negotiations with NRT, a North Reading-based company. Negotiations between the two sides are ongoing, with drivers citing a cut in hours as well as safety concerns as the sticking points between them and NRT.
"We got our raise, but they cut our hours. They are pinching our hours; I was at 30 hours and now I'm at 24, and that brought me down below what I was making before the pandemic," Donna Paglia, a bus driver from Marlborough who was outside Whitcomb Middle School on Monday, protesting the treatment of the drivers. "We care about the kids the most, we want them to be safe. If you get into a school bus and the emergency brake doesn't work, or the seats are falling apart, or the lights don't work, it's not safe for the kids and we want them to make things safe."
What the Marlborough school district has said
In a message to parents on Monday night, Mary Murphy, Superintendent of the Marlborough Public Schools, said the strike was continuing.
"Thank you to all of you that helped get our children to school this morning! I am sorry to report that we have been notified the strike will continue. Please follow the plans provided to you by your child’s school for arrival and dismissal procedures. We will be working to improve traffic around all schools," she wrote in a message on Facebook.
The school district is not involved in the negotiations.
How Marlborough students are getting to school
The drivers officially started striking on Monday, leaving thousands of Marlborough families without their traditional means of getting children to and from school.
Instead, the city relied on parents to drive and carpool students to school, a handful of buses provided by the vendor, NRT and a system of monitored walking routes within a 1.5-mile radius of local schools and staffed by Marlborough police and volunteers, to get kids to school. The plan, for now, is to continue to use the makeshift transportation plans until a deal between the drivers and NRT can be reached.
Marlborough Public Schools: Official maps of walking route to the district that are staffed
Marlborough Public Schools: Official list of the bus routes in Marlborough on Monday, May 8
Teachers and students were prepared for a slow opening at the start of school, knowing that students would be coming in well after the first bell, citing the arrivals being similar to winter days with bad weather, Murphy said.
"Similar to snowy mornings we expected some students would be tardy," she said.
How was attendance in Marlborough on Monday
Murphy noted that 83% of students attended school on Monday, which is approximately 87% of MPS' daily attendance figure. This suggests that approximately 13% of all students were unable to attend school due to the bus strike.
More: NRT school bus drivers on strike in Marlborough: 'We are not getting a fair wage'
Did any students miss their AP exams due to the bus strike
This week is particularly important to the Marlborough students who are taking AP exams. AP exams are produced by the nonprofit organization College Board, and have to take place at the same date and time across the country.
On Monday, the AP Calculus exams took place at 8 a.m. Murphy reported that all students planning to take the exam arrived at school on time. AP tests in other subjects, including English on Tuesday, Spanish on Wednesday, and Modern World History on Thursday, will take place throughout the week.
"All students were on time and participated in the AP Calculus Exam this morning. There are exams all week and the staff created an arrival plan for all students," Murphy said Monday.
NRT's response to the strike
NRT issued a statement to the Daily News last week about the impending strike.
"While we respect our employees' federally protected right to strike, we are extremely saddened that the Teamsters are considering moving forward with a strike, particularly given the progress that we’ve made in our collective bargaining discussions over the last few months. Since January 2023, NRT has actively and respectfully negotiated in good faith with the union, and this includes attending every meeting and remaining in discussion for as long as requested. We are deeply committed to creating and maintaining a work environment that is supportive of our drivers and the communities that rely on us to provide safe and reliable transportation for the children in our care," NRT stated.
Teamsters Local 170 had threatened to strike in three communities where it represents drivers and monitors; Framingham, Marlborough and Westborough. A deal was struck on Sunday evening between Framingham drivers and NRT to avoid a strike in Framingham, while Westborough drivers remain without a contract but are not striking.
"We are physically on strike in Marlborough. We are not pulling Westborough at this time. Marlborough is officially on strike. We will be on strike until we resolve the contract. We are hoping NRT brings an offer back to the table that will be responsible and good for the drivers, and we will go from there,” Jim Marks, business manager for Teamsters Local 170, told WCVB.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: NRT bus strike in Marlborough MA continues on second day: What to know
