School bus strike suspended

The strike is over!

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 school bus strike has ended. School buses will be available to students beginning on the morning of Wednesday, February 20, according to the announcement made during a 7 p.m. public conference call with union leaders.

The welcome news comes just days after Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s State of the City address at the Barclays Center, where he called the strike a “lost cause.”

It also comes less than a day after mayoral candidates sent a letter to union members and leadership promising to revisit the issue of job guarantees for workers after the next election.

“I’m glad to report that every day more and more buses are on the road transporting our students to school,” he said. “I urge all bus drivers to return to work and I urge Local 1181 leaders to recognize their strike is a lost cause and to stop hurting our children and their members.

That status of negotiations between ATU 1181 and the city is unknown at this time.

Stay tuned for details.