School bus drivers in Forest Lake and officials with the Forest Lake Area School District will meet Friday morning to continue negotiations with the help of a mediator, as the possibility of a strike looms nearer.

If an agreement isn’t reached, the district’s 76 school bus drivers and special education bus aides could strike as early as Tuesday.

“We have cleared our calendars for the weekend,” said Amy Perusse, negotiator and business agent for Teamsters Local 320, the union that represents the drivers and aides. “We can stay as late as we need to on Friday and we’re willing to work through the weekend, so we have something to take back to the membership on Monday.”

Citing low wages and long work days, the union notified district officials on April 15 that they had filed an intent to strike with the state Bureau of Mediation Services. The drivers’ contract expired in September. Union and school district officials have met to negotiate six times since then, Perusse said, but “the main sticking points continue to be wages and benefits, and the effect that has on the district’s ability to recruit and retain drivers.”

Union officials have called for a meeting at 4:30 p.m. Monday with the hope of having a vote conducted by 6 p.m., Perusse said.

“We’re hopeful that there will be some sort of agreement to bring back to the membership for a vote,” she said. “We really want to reach an agreement. We don’t want to be disruptive to the students and their families.”

The potential strike would impact students who attend Forest Lake Area Schools, Lakes International Language Academy, North Lakes Academy and St. Peter Catholic School.

Superintendent Steve Massey said district officials value the work of its bus drivers and aides.

“We are optimistic that we will be able to find new common ground,” he said in a statement. “The district will work as long as it takes to work through the issues with the hope of averting a strike.”

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