As the strike drags on, nearly 40 classes have had to cancel their trips to the Staten Island Children's Museum.
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Signs are posted outside the Pioneer Bus depot, as bus drivers and matrons continue their strike.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Members Only Wednesdays at the Staten Island Children's Museum have been quiet affairs these past two weeks.
Typically, boisterous groups of schoolchildren and their teachers explore the exhibits alongside babies and the toddler set, who also show up with their parents or grandparents when the museum opens at 10 a.m.
Now the members have the place to themselves.
On the other days of the week, during the hours between 10 and noon reserved exclusively for field trips, the museum on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Livingston, has been silent.
"The bus strike is not just about transporting children to and from school -- children are missing the much needed enrichment school trips offer," says Dina Rosenthal, executive director of the Staten Island Children's Museum.
Since the school-bus strike began on Jan. 16, nearly 40 classes have had to cancel their trips to the museum.
In an effort to ensure students don't miss out, the museum has reached out to some schools that had booked art workshops and is offering to bring educators and the programs right to the classrooms.
"It's disappointing that there are so few updates with the strike; we don't have any idea how long this may last," said Addy Manipella, director of education.
In hopes of bringing the strike to an end, Mayor Michael Bloomberg arranged a meeting at Gracie Mansion Monday between the bus companies and union leaders.
STRIKERS WARNED
But there will be no city representative at the table, the mayor has said. And if the city doesn't show, union leaders say there will be no deal.
"The mayor reached out to both the bus companies and union to arrange a meeting in hopes that they can come to an agreement to end the strike and resume bus service for thousands of students," said Laura Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg.
Pioneer Bus company Friday sent out a letter to striking workers, warning them to put an end to their action, saying, in part, "... it is apparent that the only thing being accomplished is the loss of future paychecks, health insurance and pension contributions made on your behalf, the loss of revenue for the company and most significant, a hardship on the children and parents of New York City."
The bus company told the striking union members that the hiring of replacement drivers is nearly complete.
Even so, Pioneer pleaded with the striking drivers, attendants and matrons to return to work while the contract is sorted out, noting the company's contract with the city does not expire until 2015, leaving plenty of time to settle differences without upending routines and putting children's educations at risk.
A coalition of about 20 bus companies have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, calling the strike unlawful. If the board finds in favor of the bus companies, it must first seek an injunction in federal court to stop the strike.
The union, for its part, has called the strike a matter of job security, fearing if the city puts bus contracts out to bid, they could be replaced by people willing to work for less.
"As I have said from the beginning, the best way for this strike to end is with Local 1181, Mayor Bloomberg and the city's bus companies in one room, talking candidly and in good faith. We urge Mayor Bloomberg to join us at the table to work towards ending this strike," said Union President Michael Cordiello. "Until that happens, the strike goes on."
And until the strike is resolved, the Staten Island Zoo's traveling education animals -- among them, Pepperoni the snake and Samson the armadillo -- will be logging lots of miles visiting the schoolchildren who cannot come to see them.
The Zoo has also had a steep drop in field trips because of the strike, said Executive Director Kenneth Mitchell.
"We have been doing our best to accommodate the schools by offering a traveling zoo," he said. "Right now, we're doing whatever everybody else is doing; we're trying to make the best of it."