The two sides in the crippling school bus strike are planning to meet with a mediator on Monday at Gracie Mansion.
“The mayor reached out to both the bus companies and union to arrange a meeting in hopes that they can come to an agreement to end the strike and resume bus service for thousands of students,” said Lauren Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg.
The city will not have representatives in the talks.
The school bus contractors association said that does not bode well.
“We have been negotiating regularly with the unions over the last two weeks. But the dispute isn’t between us and the union. The dispute is between the union and the city over job protection,” said a spokeswoman for the companies.
“We have agreed to participate in the meeting in the hopes of ending this unfortunate strike. The unions made it clear they want the mayor there and the city there and our understanding is they’re not going to be there.”
Since the strike began on Jan. 16, the mayor has been offering to facilitate conversations between the companies and their employees.
But he has insisted that the city can’t give the drivers, represented by Local 1181, what they want: an iron-clad guarantee that their jobs will be protected no matter what happens in a new round of bidding for the lucrative transportation contracts.
On his radio show this morning, the mayor reiterated that the city is not a party to the dispute.
“It’s a private company that employs private sector workers. They’ve got to negotiate something,” he said.
“I hope this union comes to an agreement with all these bus company owners.”
The last time school bus drivers struck was 1979, when the impasse lasted three months.
Additional reporting by Brad Hamilton