Chittenden County Transportation Authority, the state’s largest bus service, and the local Teamsters union have not yet agreed on work rules for a three-year contract.
The Teamsters Local No. 597 has threatened to strike on Monday, though the two sides have made significant progress in negotiations, and talks continue on Saturday.
If the union goes through with the work stoppage, buses that serve Chittenden County would grind to a halt. There will be no bus service in Burlington for commuter routes and most LINK Express routes.
CCTA also provides service to Montpelier and Addison County. The LINK service to Montpelier, which is partially run by GMTA, would drop from 11 round trips to five. A portion of the 116 Commuter operated by the Addison County transit provider, would also operate in the event of a strike.
The management of CCTA has offered bus drivers a 7.34 percent increase in year one of the contract. Bill Watterson, CEO of the company, says CCTA’s compensation for bus drivers is the second highest in New England, after Portland, Maine.
“We’ve made significant progress in four areas we’ve been focusing on,” Watterson said. “We do seem to have had relative success in terms of work hours, part-time positions, and wages and benefits.
“We are continuing to work on work rules and that’s what we spent our time on in negotiations two weeks ago and we’ll be working to address this Saturday,” Watterson said.
CCTA’s base wage for driving a bus is $42,494 per year. Total compensation can range from $53,893 to $71,535. The jobs come with health insurance.
Watterson said with that level of compensation, the company has had no difficulty hiring bus drivers. CCTA has grown over the last three years from 53 full-time bus drivers to 71.
The overall management package will cost the company $240,000. The union is pushing for a package that is worth $888,000.
Representatives from the union could not be reached. Paul Fleckenstein, a member of the Committee to Support CCTA Drivers, sent VTDigger a commentary that outlined the union’s concerns.
Watterson says information from the union has been misleading.
While union members have complained about an increase in the company’s use of part-time staff, the management package lowers the number of part-time employees allowed on staff from 13 to seven.
The drivers have a split schedule. They work eight hours a day — roughly four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening — in order to provide service during the heavy commute periods. The union complains that the split shifts are unacceptable; Watterson maintains the shifts are standard in the industry and CCTA pays a higher wage to compensate.
The union also says driver fatigue is a problem. Watterson says the company gives bus drivers five hours between driving hours to rest. Drivers also must have 10 hours of rest between work days.
CCTA has video cameras on buses to ensure the safety of drivers and the public, Watterson said, and this is another sticking point with the union.
CORRECTION: Paul Fleckenstein was originally misidentified as a member of the Teamsters. He is member of the Committee to Support CCTA Drivers.
