It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page for Friday February 6, 2026.
The person driving your child to school arrives at the bus barn early in the morning, You might not even be awake. He or she punches in a number. The manager gives them announcements for the day and assigns a route.
Drivers with seniority get the same route every day. Newbies might get different routes every week.
The person driving your child to school inspects the bus. Does the heater work? Do the chains fit properly? How about the tires? The brakes?
If there’s a problem, the driver who takes your child to school must find an alternative bus. This takes time. And there’s pressure to pick up your child on time in varied weather conditions.
The person driving your child to school in the morning is close to going on strike.
How we got here is a long story. It involves the 230 employees of Durham School Services in Mat-Su and their union, Teamsters Local 959. Negotiations with Durham started last July. They made some progress. However, negotiations came to a halt last month. The Durham team left the state. There are no plans to re-start negotiations.
The Department of Transportation has minimum standards for medical check-ups for bus drivers. The union and the company agree that the drivers should meet higher standards than the minimum.
The union says the company is forcing its drivers to pay more than is necessary for extra tests. Drivers may be forced to get check-ups from doctors outside of their network, for example. And the bus driver pays. It’s a financial burden to pay extra for out of network service.
Political coordinator for Teamsters 959 Patrick Fitzgerald said, “I can get my physical within my network and it’s affordable.” But Durham wants to pick the doctor. And it costs more if the doctor is not in the driver’s network. And the driver pays. Fitzgerald notes that any other transportation company, like an airline, pays those costs.
There are other issues. The union wants more inventory. Drivers want equipment to be immediately available to replace a bus that fails inspection.
But the health issue looms large enough to lead to an impasse.
Fitzgerald doesn’t know what is going to happen next. Talks are at a standstill.
The Durham negotiating team is not here.
Drivers are passionate about the items on the table. They voted to authorize a strike. The turnout was high. 99% voted yes.
The conflict is not between the school district and the drivers. Durham is a private company contracted with the school district to provide transportation. The union is starting to pressure the district. They argue that the school district should fine Durham if it doesn’t meet the terms of the contract. Teamster Business agent Kelsey Taylor spoke to the school board about this issue Wednesday. He argued that it amounts to “corporate welfare” if the district doesn’t hold Durham to the terms of its contract.
Learn about glaciology in the Mat-Su with Joe Moore on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Mat-Su Health Foundation building in Wasilla. Join retired soil scientist Joe Moore on all things glacial.
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This Page Two article was written by David Cheezem and read by Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Friday February 6, 2026.