School bus drivers from Robinson Bus Service of Evanston said they will strike Wednesday unless the company meets their demands for better pay and benefits, a move that could leave 10,000 students in the north suburbs and part of Chicago scrambling for rides.
Service Employees’ Local No. 1, representing 430 drivers, mechanics and attendants at the bus service, negotiated with the company for 4 1/2 hours Sunday but the talks broke off without an agreement.
A one-day strike by Robinson drivers could affect elementary and middle schools in Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Niles, Skokie and Chicago.
Union members said Sunday that they are notifying school boards in affected districts and using a telephone hot line to update parents on the negotiations, though such moves could blunt the impact of a strike.
“If we were just to walk out tomorrow, what would happen to the children, standing out on the corner in this cold? Then you’d say the drivers don’t care about the children,” said Howard Bass of Chicago, a driver for Robinson for seven years. “In this instance, what we’re doing is making an effort not to put those children in danger. All of the drivers agreed to this.”
Bill Silver, the union’s chief negotiator, said the union was “hoping to send a message to Robinson. It is our hope that the work stoppage will not happen.”
Robinson officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Darwin Johnson, superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65, said Sunday that he already warned parents about the possibility of a strike.
“School will be open and we will request the parents to cooperate to get their children to school,” Johnson said.
About 2,171 of District 65’s 7,000 students ride Robinson buses.
Since they first unionized in May, Robinson bus drivers have been demanding better pay, a safety committee to review the expansion of some routes and a company contribution to a health-insurance plan, Silver said.
The company has already agreed to pay drivers more for working longer routes and has made the system for assigning routes fairer, employees acknowledged. However, they said it has yet to budge on more substantial issues, particularly health insurance.
