Update, 11:20 am: More than 100 drivers were fired from Boro Wide Buses in Red Hook this morning, confirms the New York Post.
"Matrons who came back to work this morning after their union ended its monthlong school bus strike were abruptly terminated—after being told their company had folded," says the report.
Members of Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union were allegedly told they could reapply for positions with affiliated bus companies—but only under a different union.
Owner Joseph Fazzia—president of the affiliated companies Boro Wide Buses, JoFaz Transportation and Canal Escorts—told reporters that Canal folded because it "had been unable to meet its contractual requirements with the Department of Education during the strike."
“The layoffs are permanent,” he wrote in a letter.
***
While city parents exhaled a sigh of relief, many yellow bus drivers were still holding their breath as they returned to work Wednesday morning. After a monthlong New York City bus strike, some operators stated they would not welcome back workers who participated, according to sources.
At approximately 4:45 a.m. NYPD officers are expected to provide crowd control at the Boro Wide Buses lot on Coffey Street in Red Hook, where approximately 500 engines are parked. There, the owner is expected to turn away an unknown number of striking workers, a source told Patch late Tuesday night.
Those aware of the situation anticipated there could be trouble, outbursts and possible vandalism, said the source.
New York City spent more than $20 million reimbursing parents for travel during the monthlong bus strike, schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said Monday. But those costs were likely to increase as parents continue to file claims.
Some bus companies had hired replacement workers during the walkout and "had threatened striking drivers, saying they could lose their jobs if they didn't return," reported the Wall Street Journal.
But in Brooklyn those threats may turn out to be promises kept.
Stay with Patch for updates.
