About 260 bus drivers, custodians, and buildings and grounds workers went on strike at 6 a.m. Wednesday against Robbinsdale School District 281, more than 17 months after their previous contract expired.
The drivers and school building workers - members of Service Employees International Union Local 284 - followed through on their threat to strike after mediation Tuesday night failed to resolve differences. No new talks have been scheduled.
The strike affects roughly 14,000 students 28 schools in the western suburban district, which serves parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
The school district canceled classes and extracurricular activities, but resumed classes Thursday. The district said it would provide free before-and after-school care to accommodate parents dropping students off early or picking them up late. School buildings will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
Shane Allers, executive director of Local 284, said unresolved issues are wages and health insurance premiums. The union is seeking across-the-board raises of 60 cents an hour; Allers said the school district was offering about 40 cents an hour.
In addition, the union is seeking to lock the school district into paying 75 percent of medical insurance premiums. The district currently caps its contribution at a flat-dollar amount, which Allers says translates into covering roughly 70 percent of the most popular family coverage plan. He said the district's proposal would drop that share to about 63 percent.
A typical bus driver, Allers said, is paid $10.99 per hour, but would pay $367 a month for family medical coverage.
The majority of drivers, Allers said, are classified as part-time, even though some work 50-60 hours per week. Pay ranges from $10.33 to $12.74 per hour.
Full-time custodians and bus drivers typically earn between $8.81 and $16.11 per hour, he said. Building technicians and other custodial categories have pay scales between $7.97 and $11.25 per hour, Allers said.
Earlier, the union said the school district had refused to budge in its proposal during an all-day session with a state mediator Nov. 29,.
'I was really surprised and disturbed by the school district's attitude,' Allers said. 'They don't believe our members are serious about this. They're willing to play Russian roulette with their own students' education.'
That failed mediation session came two days before the end of the state's legally mandated 30-day cooling off period for the workers.
Michael Kuchta is editor of the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org
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About 260 bus drivers, custodians, and buildings and grounds workers went on strike at 6 a.m. Wednesday against Robbinsdale School District 281, more than 17 months after their previous contract expired.
The drivers and school building workers – members of Service Employees International Union Local 284 – followed through on their threat to strike after mediation Tuesday night failed to resolve differences. No new talks have been scheduled.
The strike affects roughly 14,000 students 28 schools in the western suburban district, which serves parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
The school district canceled classes and extracurricular activities, but resumed classes Thursday. The district said it would provide free before-and after-school care to accommodate parents dropping students off early or picking them up late. School buildings will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
Shane Allers, executive director of Local 284, said unresolved issues are wages and health insurance premiums. The union is seeking across-the-board raises of 60 cents an hour; Allers said the school district was offering about 40 cents an hour.
In addition, the union is seeking to lock the school district into paying 75 percent of medical insurance premiums. The district currently caps its contribution at a flat-dollar amount, which Allers says translates into covering roughly 70 percent of the most popular family coverage plan. He said the district’s proposal would drop that share to about 63 percent.
A typical bus driver, Allers said, is paid $10.99 per hour, but would pay $367 a month for family medical coverage.
The majority of drivers, Allers said, are classified as part-time, even though some work 50-60 hours per week. Pay ranges from $10.33 to $12.74 per hour.
Full-time custodians and bus drivers typically earn between $8.81 and $16.11 per hour, he said. Building technicians and other custodial categories have pay scales between $7.97 and $11.25 per hour, Allers said.
Earlier, the union said the school district had refused to budge in its proposal during an all-day session with a state mediator Nov. 29,.
‘I was really surprised and disturbed by the school district’s attitude,’ Allers said. ‘They don’t believe our members are serious about this. They’re willing to play Russian roulette with their own students’ education.’
That failed mediation session came two days before the end of the state’s legally mandated 30-day cooling off period for the workers.
Michael Kuchta is editor of the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org
Related articles
Rally fires up Robbinsdales strikers
Robbinsdale bus drivers prepare for strike
Visit the Local 284 website