Mayor rejects idea of meeting with school bus drivers' union to end strike

Mayor Michael Bloomberg reiterated Tuesday that he won't be personally meeting with the school bus drivers' union anytime soon to try and resolve the ongoing bus strike.

The 8,000 members of Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union said they won't work until the city puts an employee protection provision in its bids for new contracts and called on the mayor to negotiate.

Bloomberg, who stands by a court ruling that deemed EPP illegal, said the union need to deal with the bus companies and not him.

"That's not something at the moment I'm contemplating," the mayor said when asked if he would meet with the union.

Bus companies filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board contending the strike, which started last Wednesday, is illegal. A representative for the board said it is actively investigating the claim but didn't give a timetable for its ruling.