A group of school bus companies plans to stop service to 150,000 city students and fire 12,000 unionized workers in a vicious contract standoff, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n
The coalition will inform the state Monday of its plan set to take hold Nov. 1 as part of a state requirement that dictates companies must notify the state Department of Labor<\/a> ahead of layoffs under the Working Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) laws.<\/p>\n Bus companies Logan, Transportation Corp., Consolidated and Pioneer Transportation saw their contracts with the Big Apple end in June and have been given month-to-month emergency contracts ever since.<\/p>\n Bus companies Logan, Transportation Corp., Consolidated and Pioneer Transportation saw their contracts with the Big Apple end in June. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post<\/p>\n \u201cWithout a contract the company cannot commit to the purchasing of buses and long-term leases necessary to continue its services,\u201d a draft letter to the Labor Department said. \u201cTherefore, without a contract extension, the Company\u2019s contractual services are scheduled to end as of October 31, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter blames the Panel for Educational Policy for terminating employees at the end of the business day on Oct. 31 \u2014 citing PEP\u2019s \u201cstated prerogative\u201d to shut down service for the affected students by not approving a new five-year deal.<\/p>\n \u201cIndefinite emergency extensions are unfeasible and impractical for transportation companies,\u201d said John Crowley, attorney for the companies. <\/p>\n \u201cA 5-year cycle is required to maintain labor stability and underwrite the costs of both new buses and real estate needed to safely operate these businesses,\u201d Crowley, with Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, said in an affidavit accompanying the WARN notice.<\/p>\n Crowley said the businesses believed they had a deal with Mayor Eric Adams<\/a> and the city Department of Education on the terms of a new five-year contract.<\/p>\n Some 150,000 students throughout New York City will be affected. AP<\/p>\n The cancellation of bus service would come three days before the Nov. 4 election, which could roil the races for mayor and City Council.<\/p>\n But members of PEP won\u2019t ratify the new five-year deal, claiming it lacks adequate employee protections, and prefer to extend the existing contract on a monthly basis, according to the draft notice being sent to the state and obtained by The Post.<\/p>\n PEP\u2019s 24-member board includes a simple majority appointed by the mayor, but there are vacancies that could impact the vote. It will next meet on Oct. 29.<\/p>\n The bus companies earlier this month held off on sending out WARN notices at the request of the mayor\u2019s office, in hopes that the contract dispute would be resolved in a matter of days.<\/p>\n Members of PEP won\u2019t ratify the new five-year deal, claiming it lacks adequate employee protections. NYC Public Schools<\/p>\n Under the proposed five-year contract, the bus companies agreed to ramp up GPS reporting to improve service on the bus routes, buy 200 electric vehicles and spend $345 million on goods and services with minority- and women-owned businesses, reps for the bus companies said.<\/p>\n PEP chairman Gregory Faulkner blasted the bus companies for threatening to hold students \u201chostage\u201d by canceling their bus routes over a contract dispute that involves complaints about shoddy service.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot understand how these companies believe that threatening to strand our students \u2014 most of whom have disabilities \u2014 without transportation will compel me or any other Panel member to entrust them with our students for another five years,\u201d Faulkner said in a statement Sunday night.<\/p>\n PEP chairman Faulkner blasted the bus companies for threatening to hold students \u201chostage\u201d by canceling their bus routes. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post<\/p>\n He called the threat of pulling bus service a \u201cknee jerk reaction by privileged vendors with outdated contracts,\u201d and said that the proposed five-year bus contract will be taken up in November instead of this month \u2014 after the mayoral election.<\/p>\n