Education
Local Paratransit Drivers, Some of Whom Serve CPS Students, Vote to Authorize Strike
(Regional Transportation Authority)
Hundreds of PACE and Chicago Public Schools paratransit drivers have authorized a strike over unfair labor practices just days before the new school year kicks off.
Teamsters Local 727, which represents more than 800 drivers, announced this week that its members have voted to authorize a work stoppage after they claim their employer, SCR Medical Transportation, has refused to bargain in good faith.
“Since commencement of negotiations in April 2024, SCR Medical Transportation has engaged in bad faith bargaining resulting in the filing of numerous unfair labor practices, including refusal to bargain in good faith, refusal to provide information, direct dealing, unilateral changes, and unlawful surveillance and intimidation of Union members,” Teamsters Local 727 wrote in a press statement.
On its company website, SCR touts itself as “the choice paratransit transportation company for transporting children of the Chicago Public Schools, the elderly & the disabled.”
SCR said it remains committed to providing school transportation and paratransit services “for those who rely on us, without service disruptions.”
“SCR is dedicated to providing safe and reliable transportation for our schools and communities, and values and respects our hardworking employees,” the company said in a statement. “We remain focused on reaching a fair and equitable agreement to fulfil (sic) our commitment to both our employees and communities and are hopeful that we can return to the bargaining table as soon as possible to resume negotiations.”
CPS is set to begin classes for the new school year Aug. 26. But the district has already faced bus driver shortages that have limited its ability to transport students to and from schools in recent years.
Neither CPS nor Teamsters Local 727 specified how many students could potentially be impacted.
In response to the possible Teamsters strike, CPS said its student transportation team is working on a contingency plan in an attempt to lessen the impact of any possible work stoppage on students and families.
“Chicago Public Schools continues to monitor this situation, and we encourage the parties to work toward an agreement that ensures qualified students have access to the transportation services that they need,” a district spokesperson said in a statement.
The school district has blamed a national driver shortage for busing issues that have limited transportation for students to and from their schools on a daily basis in recent years.
CPS officials this summer have discussed other plans to expand busing opportunities by shifting arrival and dismissal times to allow for more bus routes and organizing a hub program that would allow students to get on buses near their home.
SCR officials and Teamsters Local 727 were expected to continue bargaining Thursday.
