Walsh Spurns Union Request To Act On Fired Drivers

Union members and the AFL-CIO are urging Boston Mayor Martin Walsh to push for reinstatement of four school bus drivers who were fired after they were accused of instigating an illegal strike.

Veolia Corp., which manages Boston's school buses, fired the workers in November after most buses never drove off their lots on Oct. 8 and many of the 30,000 students were left without transportation.

Union activists say Veolia locked the workers out of the bus yards.

Veolia says its contract with workers bars work stoppages and strikes and that grievances can be settled in arbitration.

The Boston Globe reports that Walsh declined to call for rehiring the drivers. He called it a private matter.

He says the National Labor Relations Board can deal with the issue.