YONKERS, N.Y.—School bus workers in southern Westchester County will go on strike Monday, Nov. 6 if they don’t have a new contract by then, Transport Workers Union Local 100 announced this week.
The about 600 drivers, monitors, and mechanics at First Mile Square, which provides bus service in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Mamaroneck, have been working without a contract since June 30, Local 100 said. They are demanding one paid sick day a year, annual 3% pay raises, and a guaranteed 25-hour workweek, the union says, to get parity with Westchester’s other major school-bus companies. First Mile Square bus operators currently earn $24 an hour, while bus monitors make about $13. Monitor Yrlenny Amparo told LoHud.com that they now work 22.5 hours a week and get “no benefits at all.” “This is not a part-time job,” added driver Aida Callahan, as those hours come from split morning, afternoon, and evening shifts. “We came to negotiate with First Mile Square today, and they didn’t bother to show up,” Local 100 President Tony Utano said at a rally at the company’s Yonkers depot. “We are running out of patience, and First Mile Square is running out of time.”
