School buses in the Matanuaka-Susitna Valley will not be running starting Monday, according to Teamsters Local 959.
said an “unfair labor practice” strike starts Monday, March 2 as school bus workers picket, which comes after it says Teamsters Local 959 said its negotiation team was prepared to work through the weekend, but “ Durham declined to participate.
” Alaska’s News Source attempted to get in contact with Durham School Services Sunday, but did not immediately hear back On Wednesday, Durham said, “Teamsters Local 959 has announced its intention to strike on Monday, March 2, despite the fact that the Union proposed—and Durham accepted—formal negotiation dates of March 17 and 18 with a mediator present. A strike before those dates is both unnecessary and disruptive, especially when the parties were already scheduled to meet and finalize an agreement."Members of Local Teamsters 959 gathered along the Parks Highway beginning Monday morning, chanting and carrying signs demanding better contract terms. “We have been negotiating since June of 2025,” said union representative Kelsey Taylor. “We’ve made every effort to move this negotiations forward in a productive way. And obviously we’ve been unsuccessful.” Taylor said that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is nearly halfway through a ten-year contract with Durham. “We need the district to vigorously enforce their contract. Because if they can do that, Durham will show up and provide our members with the tools, time, training, and equipment to have a bus service that our kids deserve.” The greatest concern of the union is fleet maintenance, citing issues like brake inspection failures. In one case, a driver’s seat that burnt up due to faulty wiring, the driver said they were told to cover it with a towel and carry on with their route. The driver's seat of a school bus, which the driver says was burnt through by faulty electrical wiring. “We’ve had a number of days since January where we haven’t had enough buses to run all the routes,” Taylor said. “We’ve got drivers ready to go. We don’t have the buses.” While students are currently without those routes, the union hopes to force Durham to the negotiating table and guarantee better service in the future through the strike. “We understand that it’s frustrating for the families of the Mat-Su Valley and, you know, it’s something that’s frustrating for us,” said union representative Patrick Fitzgerald. “It’s frustrating for our members, the employees of Durham, but the fact of the matter is that the community and the families of the Mat-Su Valley deserve better from their school bus provider.”Anchorage School Board votes to close 3 schools amid $90M deficit‘He just wanted to work’: Family remembers ‘Deadliest Catch’ crew memberSullivan: Alaska experiencing largest military buildup since WWII amid rising Arctic threats
Teamsters School Bus Strike Bus Wasilla Mat Su
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