Penn Hills school bus drivers, seeking to salvage contract negotiations with the district, will ask the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to appoint a fact-finder.
The Penn Hills School Board halted negotiations with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1552 this month and voted to hire First Student Inc. to provide busing, effective July 1, when the union's contract expires.
District officials said they needed the deal with First Student, which calls for the company to purchase the district's buses to balance the 2011-12 budget in the face of a $3.9 million reduction in state subsidies.
Attorney Robert Eberle said he will file a petition on behalf of 75 union drivers asking the state Labor Relations Board to appoint a fact-finder to review the school board's decision.
Eberle said the drivers made "substantial concessions" in their efforts to negotiate a new contract. They believe their offer is competitive with First Student's if the purchase agreement is removed from the equation.
Should the state agree to appoint a fact-finder, Eberle said that person could recommend that the district reconsider the union's offer. Such recommendations, however, are not binding.
"Everything would be voluntary," Eberle said.
School district officials were not available for comment on Friday.
A spokeswoman for Cincinnati-based First Student previously said the company plans to offer furloughed drivers an opportunity to work.
