Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Approximately 181 employees are represented by ATU 1277 including bus operators, mechanics, facility maintenance and utility employees. The agreement will be effective April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2014.

Both parties signed more than 25 tentative agreements indicating their approval of negotiated items. Members of TWU then rejected a fact-finder’s report that recommended a resolution of the final article of the contract.

At one point during negotiations, the strike threatened to halt commuter and intercity passenger services, since CN shares line with passenger carriers in several Canadian provinces.

A possible Canadian Pacific strike would have impacted passenger trains operated by Go Transit, West Coast Express and AMT along CP-owned lines in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

ATU members have been operating under the continued terms of the current contract since its expiration in August 2009.

Due to budget cuts and rising operating costs, the MTA planned to freeze its budget for the next three years. Officials hope to get workers to agree to concessions similar to those recently made by New York State employees, but transit workers say they deserve raises.

The $100,000 contract comes at a time when the agency is facing a $20 million deficit and the City of San Francisco is faced with a $380 million budget shortfall.

The current labor contract expired on January 31, with Metro's 676 union bus operators, maintenance and support employees continuing to work under the terms of the old contract at this point. It is SORTA's intent to resume negotiations.

The extension agreement averts a possible strike by CTTRANSIT employees in the Hartford, New Haven and Stamford divisions that could have occurred at midnight on Dec. 31, 2010.

At this time, all the terms and conditions of the former contract continue until a new agreement is reached.