LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Lakota Local School District bus drivers returned to work Friday morning after the Teamsters Union representing them reached an agreement on contracts with Petermann Transportation, according to Bill Davis, president of Teamsters Local 100.
The strike lasted just under a week, but left students attending schools in the Lakota district without buses while union members worked to forge an agreement with Petermann.
The strike began on August 31 and kicked off in earnest the morning of September 1, when bus drivers began picketing the bus terminal on Yankee Road at 5:30 a.m. instead of boarding their buses to begin their routes.
A tentative agreement was struck after negotiations met at 9 a.m. Wednesday; The re-negotiations began after halting for the holiday weekend. In a joint statement, the two sides said they have agreed to a 3-year labor agreement with the help of a federal mediator.
On Thursday morning, Teamsters Local 100 voted in favor of agreements reached with Petermann Transportation.
Davis said the union's members didn't want to strike, but they were also not happy with original contract language proposed by Petermann.
Specifically, Davis said the drivers take issue with new provisions within the contract that would allow drivers' supervisors to virtually monitor them at any time; Previously, the typical contract language allowed surveillance in the event of a complaint made, or any indication of reckless driving, Davis said.
"We're all human," Davis said. "None of us are perfect. Would you want constant video supervision at your job? A rogue supervisor who did not like you could make your job much harder, or even get you terminated."
Davis said he didn't believe there is any indication drivers have performed their jobs so poorly as to need constant virtual supervision.
Details of the final, agreed-upon contract have not yet been released, but Davis said the union voted in favor of it and agreed to halt the strike.
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