School bus drivers in New York City plan to strike on Wednesday

From The New York Times: For the first time in more than three decades, New York City's largest union for school bus drivers plans to strike, a move that would affect more than 150,000 students. The union says the decision for its 8,800 drivers and matrons to strike on Wednesday — the first since a 13-week strike in 1979 — is essentially about children's safety. It is trying to preserve job protection for the most experienced bus drivers if the transportation vendors who employ them lose city contracts. Those job-security measures will not be included in the competitive bids that the city is soliciting for 1,100 of its routes. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg denounced the planned strike and says the city was ready with an array of backup steps to support children and their families.