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Marlborough School Bus Drivers and Monitors Strike Over Health Care

Union leaders say bargaining broke down after the company offered a deal that would shift large health-care costs to workers.

Overview

  • The strike began Wednesday when about 45 Teamsters Local 170 members who drive and monitor buses for Marlborough Public Schools and the Advanced Math and Science Academy refused to report and picketed at NRT Bus’s Fox Road yard in Hudson.
  • The union says talks that ran for months collapsed after NRT presented a “last and final” offer that would raise employees’ out-of-pocket health costs and that the proposal does not provide affordable coverage or adequate retirement benefits.
  • NRT says it reached a tentative agreement over the weekend, calls the union’s walkout a reversal, and has activated a contingency plan to keep students transported.
  • Marlborough Public Schools Superintendent Jason DeFalco says routes are running and the district has brought in replacement drivers to minimize disruption as both sides remain available to resume talks.
  • The dispute follows a three-day Teamsters strike in May 2023 and could prolong pressure on school operations and family commutes until negotiators close a new successor contract.