No settlement yet for transit workers

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 had hoped to vote on a tentative contract April 10, but the balloting was cancelled after union leaders discovered problems with the contract language.

Assisted by the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services, March 31 negotiations between Metro Transit and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 resulted in a handshake on a tentative agreement.

When ATU received a written copy of Metro Transit’s proposal the next day, however, the union discovered discrepancies from the verbal agreement and cancelled a contract vote scheduled for April 10.

In mid-February, ATU members voted by a 97 percent margin to reject Metro Transit’s initial contract offer.

The new offer included annual wage increases of 2.25 percent for each year of the two-year agreement, up from 2 percent in the initial offer, the union said.
In the new offer, “the most contentious discrepancy involves the ‘LOA — Day at a Time Vacation,” according to the ATU Local 1005 website. That issue was a priority for members, ATU reported.

The union said it hoped to resolve these final issues and schedule a new contract vote soon. Updates are available at the ATU Local 1005 website.

This article is adapted from a report in the Minneapolis Labor Review.

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