Mount Clemens school bus drivers end strike

Candice Williams and Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News

Mount Clemens -- Bus service resumes this morning for Mount Clemens Community School's 1,000 student riders after bus drivers came to an agreement with the company that provides district bus service.

A contract was ratified by the 21 striking drivers at 5 p.m. Tuesday, ending a day-and-a-half strike.

"Negotiations went well and we have an agreement," said Maureen Richmond, spokeswoman for First Student Inc, which contracts with the district. She said she did not know specifics of the contract.

The strike centered around issues involving wages for the next three years.

The Cincinnati-based bus service company went on strike Monday afternoon, leaving the district scrambling for ways to get students home. Some of the company's replacement bus drivers took students home while other students made last-minute calls to their parents for rides.

There was no bus service Tuesday. The district was not involved in the negotiations and were caught off guard by the strike, said Mount Clemens Community Schools Superintendent Charles Muncatchy.

"I'm glad to see the situation come to closure for all parties and most importantly that fact that the buses will be on time for our students," he said.

"I applaud our staff and our community for how well they communicated with each other to make this day a successful day. Still, the fact that drivers would abandoned their work an hour before their work does disturb me."

The strike centered on wage issues.

Even one day without bus service is too much, said parent Todd Frank, who picked up his son and a neighbor's son from George Washington Academy on Tuesday. He said many of his neighbors rely on the bus because they work or they don't have cars.

"It's a big inconvenience for everyone and a safety issue for the kids," Frank said. "What are all these parents suppose to do when they don't have a vehicle?"

Half of the district's 2,000 students take the bus to school, Muncatchy said. Districtwide attendance Tuesday was down by about 7 percent, he said.

Mount Clemens Schools Board President Earl Rickman said the district has never experienced a strike like this. He said he fielded a lot of calls from concerned parents who may have not seen the school signs or the district's posting on its Web site.

cwilliams@detnews.com (586) 468-0529