School bus drivers in Cape Girardeau School district to vote on contract with First Student

If an agreement cannot be reached between the union that represents drivers and the company that provides bus service to the Cape Girardeau School District and other Southeast Missouri school systems, the union could call a strike.

Officials from First Student Inc. say regardless of how a contract vote turns out today, bus service will not be interrupted.

The contract covers about 70 Teamsters Local 600 bus drivers and aides in Cape Girardeau, and at Missouri state schools in Poplar Bluff, according to the local's business agent David Bruckerhoff. On Tuesday afternoon, he said too much remained unsettled to declare a strike imminent.

The drivers are expected to vote on the company's "best and final" contract offer at 7 p.m. today at the Teamsters hall. Should the members reject the contract offer, they would then vote on a motion to strike, Bruckerhoff said. If a strike is called, the union would give all parties 72 hours notice, with the hope, Bruckerhoff said, of meeting First Student back at the bargaining table to stave off a work stoppage.

But if a strike comes to pass, Cincinnati-based First Student has no intention of stopping service, a company official said. Spokeswoman Maureen Richmond said licensed bus drivers from the region would be brought in to serve the school fleets.

First Student spokeswoman Bonnie Bastian said the company has put together a "fair-market" contract offer with competitive compensation and benefits, "especially in these economic times," and remains hopeful the two sides can come to an agreement. The company would not provide details on the contract proposal. Bruckerhoff declined to comment on the financials.

Neil Glass, the Cape Girardeau School District's director of administrative services, said First Student has assured the district there would be no interruption of service. The administrator said the contract impasse and the threat of a strike are not adding a sense of urgency to the district's exploration into operating its own bus system. He plans to deliver his recommendations to the Cape Girardeau School Board by March, when contracts go out for bus service.

"We will do what is best for this school district," Glass said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO