Paratransit workers organize in Rochester

Drivers at ZIPS Paratransit Service have organized with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, the union reported.

ZIPS — Zumbro Independent Passenger Service — provides door-to-door transportation for people who are unable to ride Rochester Public Transit’s bus service because of disability. The eight eligible drivers in the unit voted 8-0 to organize with ATU Local 1005 in a Jan. 11 election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.

The ZIPS drivers work alongside other ATU members at Rochester Public Transit, noted Mark Lawson, Local 1005 president. “It’s nice to have all the city transit workers unionized now.”

Local 1005 represents transit workers in Minnesota, including some 2,400 bus drivers and light rail operators employed by Metro Transit.

This article is reprinted from the Minneapolis Labor Review.