King County’s largest labor union, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 587, which represents Metro Transit bus drivers and others, has ratified a new three-year contract.
The new contract will enable more cost-effective delivery of transit service to the public, save $32 million over the term of the pact and help close Metro Transit’s funding gap by 20 percent, according to a King County press release.
By voting to approve the new contract by more than 69 percent, the union’s 3,800 members join a unified regional effort to work with the Legislature to address the volatility of the sales taxes that now provides the majority of funding for public transit by creating a more, sustainable source of revenue, according to the press release.
ATU Local 587 represents members who operate and maintain a fleet of 1,400 Metro buses, Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail and the South Lake Union Streetcar. The ratification was announced Friday morning.
“Our bus operators hit the street every day to perform a tough job with professionalism and a strong sense of duty,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “I congratulate negotiators on both sides for bargaining so diligently in good faith, and I thank our employees for stepping up to preserve service to the public and partnering with us in the pursuit of sustainable funding for public transit.”
The president of the union thanked Constantine and the county’s bargaining team, saying the resolution was equitable “during a time of unprecedented revenue shortfalls.”
“In voting to accept this agreement our members have shown they want to be partners in helping to persuade the Legislature to provide stable funding for public transit,” said Local 587 President Paul J. Bachtel.
By 2013 the ongoing annual cost savings in the contract are expected to preserve about 130,000 hours of bus service – about 20 percent of the 600,000 hours that under current financial plans must be cut by 2015 due to a steep drop in revenues.
Among the contract provisions:
• No wage increase in the first year, which runs from November 1 of this year through October 31, 2011.
• A 0 percent COLA floor in the second and third years, in place of the 3 percent COLA floor that has historically been part of the ATU contract. This change is estimated to save $32 million over the three-year life of this contract and $12.9 million in ongoing annual savings by the third and final year, as well as preserve 130,000 hours of bus service.
• A freeze in certain pay premiums and wage-related items, such as shift differentials, lead pay, and tool allowances.
• In connection with negotiated changes that will save costs and increase efficiencies, the contract provides a wage increase of 0.7 percent on Jan. 1, 2012 and 0.6 percent on Nov. 1, 2012.
Work-rule changes that will help enable more cost-effective delivery of bus service to the public, such as more cost-effective allocation of work between part-time and full-time transit operators and development with the union of time standards in vehicle maintenance and the ability to purchase remanufactured components when it is economical to do so.
The new contract is one of several recent developments that will help Metro become more financially sound. Metro has already implemented efficiencies recommended in a 2010 performance audit. A Regional Transit Task Force report issued earlier this month recommended actions Metro can take to reduce costs and operate more efficiently.
The ATU contract confirms the number of King County workers waiving cost-of-living increases in 2011 at more than 12,000 out of a total of 13,400 – more than 90 percent of the entire King County workforce. Their actions will preserve $23.5 million across all funds in services to the public.
The contract must now be approved by the King County Council.
