Denver transit strike averted

Averting a transit strike, negotiators for the Denver Regional Transit District (RTD) reached a tentative agreement today on a contract for its drivers, light rail operators and mechanics. The agreement must still be ratified by members of Local 1001 of the Amalgamated Transit Union and then approved by the RTD board. The union accepted the RTD's proposals to freeze wages each year and pay less toward health care premiums, reported the Associated Press. Workers would also be eligible for overtime pay only after working 40 hours in a week rather than eight hours in a day. In exchange, the RTD will allow union members to keep two paid holidays it had wanted to eliminate. The RTD will also retain precedents on how disciplinary and grievance cases are handled. The old contract expired Feb. 28. Under it, the average full-time bus driver was paid $42,300 annually and received three weeks of paid vacation and 12 paid holidays, reported the AP.