Union, city reach tentative deal to avert school bus strike

A school bus company employees’ strike that would have left some 14,000 New York City children stranded has been averted at the eleventh hour, city officials said.

A deal was reached “mins ago to avert bus strike. Transpo to class for 14k+ students in Queens, BK and SI normal tomorrow,” Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted late Monday, corroborating another tweet by the city Department of Education.

That note said: “There will be no bus strike, a tentative settlement has been reached. Jofaz Transportation and Y&M Transit will operate normally.”

A spokesman for the Teamsters local union that represents the drivers said late Monday that it had reached a tentative agreement with the two bus companies.

The deal comes a less than a week after the union membership voted to authorize a strike if a deal could not be reached by midnight Monday.

The two school bus companies share the same owner and union contract, and run about 600 routes in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. A strike would have involved about 900 workers.

The Department of Education had contingency plans in place, including a MetroCard for students and families, and alternate bus service.

Union spokesman Alex Moore said its members still need to approve the agreement.

With AP