Emergency Injunction Filed by Drummond Woodsum on Behalf of Two New Hampshire School Districts Leads to Deal with Teamsters

The Timberlane Regional and Hampstead school districts in New Hampshire have reached an agreement with the union for First Student school bus drivers, requiring them to give at least a 48-hour notice before any strike occurs. The agreement comes just days after Drummond Woodsum attorneys, James O’Shaughnessy and Demetrio Aspiras filed a petition on behalf of the school districts for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction in Rockingham Superior Court to protect the students in the surrounding towns in the event of a strike.

In an announcement posted on Timberlane’s website, Superintendent Earl Metzler announced, “while we remained deeply concerned that an extended strike would have a tremendous impact on the education of the students in the School Districts, our main and overriding goal in filing this lawsuit was to prevent any situation in which students would be harmed or put in an unsafe situation. Thankfully, the Teamsters Local 633 shared the same concerns regarding student safety and were willing to enter into this Agreement to provide at least 48 hours notice. Now, every student and family in the Timberlane and Hampstead school districts, and the community as a whole, including law enforcement and public safety, will have ample time to prepare for a strike and take the necessary steps to continue to educate our students and keep them safe.”

Earlier this month, bus drivers and other employees of First Student threatened to walk off the job over a contract dispute with the bus company over retirement funding. Timberlane and Hampstead are among the many school districts across New Hampshire that have contracts with First Student for bus transportation and would be impacted by a strike.