ICCSD bus drivers avoid strike, reach deal for pay increase to continue service
Threats of a crippling strike are no more, with annual raises in tow.
Bus service will continue as normal for the Iowa City Community School District next week after the driver’s union and their employer, Iowa Central School Bus, reached an agreement to raise wages Monday morning. Negotiations were settled nine days before classes were set to begin on Aug. 23, averting a district-wide service disruption.
ICCSD, which includes Iowa City High, Iowa City West High School, Liberty High School and several middle schools and elementary schools, relies on Iowa Central School Bus for services within the district.
The new contract will run for three years, increasing wages by 8.5 percent in year one across the board for all drivers. Wages will increase by $1 each year for the next two. Union principal officer and secretary-treasurer Jesse Case said the drivers “overwhelmingly” voted in favor of the newly-negotiated agreement. Case is a member of Teamsters Local 238, the union involved in negotiations for the drivers.
More: Women's wrestling, deans and building construction highlight new year at the University of Iowa
Talks of an impending strike intensified as the two sides remained "far apart" a few weeks ago, Case told the Press-Citizen on July 18.
“Teamsters Local 238 school bus members have negotiated and ratified a historic agreement that immediately increases wages by almost $2.00 an hour for top drivers,” Case wrote in a release provided to the Press-Citizen. “There will be no disruption in bus services.”
More: Meet the 5 Iowa restaurants that made Yelp’s Top 100 in the Midwest
Roughly half of the drivers contracted by Iowa Central School Bus are at the high end of the pay scale, while the lower drivers will receive an increase between $1.60 and $2 an hour.
The deal was brokered by a federal mediator last week, Case said, helping bridge the gap to find a resolution.
"Our drivers and monitors care deeply about the children they transport and many of them have kids who also ride the bus. Members were concerned about losing experienced drivers to surrounding districts," Case wrote. "This contract will keep the ICCSD competitive with other districts and assure safe and experienced transportation moving forward for kids in our district."
"We are thankful that Teamsters Local 238 and North American Central were able to come to an agreement that is in the best interest of our students and the bus drivers," ICCSD community relations director Kristin Pederson wrote in a release to the Press-Citizen.
Iowa Central School Bus is a member of a nationwide organization, North America Central School Bus. The entity transports more than 150,000 students to and from school daily, according to its website, operating in nine states, mostly in the Midwest.
The median wage for U.S. school bus drivers is $19.84 per hour, though that number is $2 higher in Iowa, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2022 wage report. Of those states, only Nebraska and North Dakota are in the Midwest.
The mean wage of bus drivers in Iowa is roughly $24 an hour, placing the state among the top 10 for bus drivers, according to BLS. Most drivers only work during the school year, roughly 36 weeks. They do not typically work eight hours daily, with many only driving for six. A few pick up students along sparse summer school routes or snag field trips for additional pay, but no drivers work throughout the year.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: ICCSD agrees to annual raises for bus drivers halting potential strike
