About 600 school bus drivers in the northern and eastern parts of the city are poised to walk off the job early Wednesday morning if their union is unable to come to terms on a new contract.
CAW Local 4268 will be in a legal strike position at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday after its members voted 93 per cent in favour of walking off the job earlier this month.
According to CAW Local 4268 president Debra Montgomery, the union and Stock Transportation continue to bargain but remain “pretty far apart” on several issues, including compensation.
If a deal is not reached by the deadline, strike action will be taken, Montgomery told CP24.
"None of our drivers want to go out on strike, but many have years of experience and don't want to see their wages further dropped and hours cut,” Montgomery said in a press release issued last week. “It's not a lot to ask. Drivers should be compensated fairly for the important work they do.”
Drivers with Local 4268 operate buses for the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto French School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
School boards respond
More than 4,000 students could be impacted by the job action, according to a joint statement sent out by the TDSB and TCDSB Monday afternoon.
According to the boards, some 730 TCDSB and more than 3,400 students from the TDSB would be affected.
“However, since bus services are shared and integrated through the Toronto School Transportation Group (TSTG), the final number of students adversely affect may be greater,” the release adds.
The release goes on to say that the boards will try to minimize the potential impact of the job action.
“Parents whose children would be impacted by a strike will receive a letter from their school board to advise them of the situation,” the release says.
