CCTA Drivers' Strike Victory Bash!
CCTA Drivers' Strike Victory Bash, 3 pm Sunday, April 13th, North End Studios, 294 N. Winooski Avenue (next to the Workers' Center)
Last month when 70 bus drivers walked out on strike, they faced great odds: a hostile management, an arrogant board of commissioners, and day after day of subzero cold. Buoyed by the community, these heroic drivers faced down hostile management, arrogant commissioners, and bitter cold—winning a much-needed victory for us all. We've got a lot to celebrate! Let's put on our dancing shoes! With cash bar by Radio Bean and music by CCTA driver, chief steward, and DJ extraordinaire Mike Walker.
Last month when 70 bus drivers walked out on strike, they faced great odds: a hostile management, an arrogant board of commissioners, and day after day of subzero cold. Buoyed by the community, these heroic drivers faced down hostile management, arrogant commissioners, and bitter cold—winning a much-needed victory for us all. We've got a lot to celebrate! Let's put on our dancing shoes! With cash bar by Radio Bean and music by CCTA driver, chief steward, and DJ extraordinaire Mike Walker.
CCTA DRIVERS & THE RIDING PUBLIC WIN A JUST CONTRACT
CCTA BUS DRIVERS SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE
For Information: James Haslam, VT Workers’ Center,
Date: April 3rd, 2014
CCTA DRIVERS & THE RIDING PUBLIC WIN A JUST CONTRACT
VICTORY RALLY: 5:00 PM CHURCH & CHERRY, BURLINGTON
[Burlington, VERMONT] Chittenden County Transit Authority (CCTA) bus drivers, members of Teamsters Local 597 will announce to the public their settlement to end the strike and vote to accept a new contract today.
“We won this fair contract because of our unity and the tremendous support from our community. This strike was hard on us and on the community, there was a great deal of self-sacrifice from many people. This contract meets our core concerns, including those that relate to public safety,” says Rob Slingerland, CCTA bus driver and spokesperson for the drivers.
According to James Haslam, director of the Vermont Workers Center, “In the current context of the attack on public transit, the public sector and the labor movement nationally, this is a tremendous victory for work with dignity that benefits all working people in the long haul. It was a amazing example of the community rallying behind workers. There was no doubt this was hard on the riders, but the level of solidarity was tremendous.”
Management forced the drivers to strike by stonewalling negotiations for ten months, refusing to engage in an honest, respectful discussion of the drivers’ basic demands for safe shifts, fair disciplinary and grievance procedures, and humane working conditions. Additionally, years of predatory management practices created a toxic work environment, fueling justified distrust on the part of the drivers.
This strike was triggered by CCTA managements’ intransigence and arrogance. They held the public hostage for three weeks, canceled healthcare coverage for the drivers and their families, and threatened to hire strikebreaking replacement workers, intending to intimidate the drivers at the negotiating table. In the face of all this, the drivers showed tremendous courage and unity, while the public and other unions rallied to the drivers’ side.
Now the drivers are headed back to work stronger than ever before, having developed many new rank and file leaders. With the tremendous backing of Teamsters Local 597, other unions and the community, they will continue to win the respect and dignified work that they deserve.
There will be a victory celebration this evening, April 3rd at 5:00 pm at Church and Cherry Streets, Burlington.
At 4:00pm immediately before the rally, a community delegation will be attending a special meeting of the CCTA Board of Commissioners to deliver a petition signed by over 500 community members calling for new management at CCTA. This meeting is at Shelburne Town Hall on 5420 Shelburne Road.
###
For Information: James Haslam, VT Workers’ Center,
Date: April 3rd, 2014
CCTA DRIVERS & THE RIDING PUBLIC WIN A JUST CONTRACT
VICTORY RALLY: 5:00 PM CHURCH & CHERRY, BURLINGTON
[Burlington, VERMONT] Chittenden County Transit Authority (CCTA) bus drivers, members of Teamsters Local 597 will announce to the public their settlement to end the strike and vote to accept a new contract today.
“We won this fair contract because of our unity and the tremendous support from our community. This strike was hard on us and on the community, there was a great deal of self-sacrifice from many people. This contract meets our core concerns, including those that relate to public safety,” says Rob Slingerland, CCTA bus driver and spokesperson for the drivers.
According to James Haslam, director of the Vermont Workers Center, “In the current context of the attack on public transit, the public sector and the labor movement nationally, this is a tremendous victory for work with dignity that benefits all working people in the long haul. It was a amazing example of the community rallying behind workers. There was no doubt this was hard on the riders, but the level of solidarity was tremendous.”
Management forced the drivers to strike by stonewalling negotiations for ten months, refusing to engage in an honest, respectful discussion of the drivers’ basic demands for safe shifts, fair disciplinary and grievance procedures, and humane working conditions. Additionally, years of predatory management practices created a toxic work environment, fueling justified distrust on the part of the drivers.
This strike was triggered by CCTA managements’ intransigence and arrogance. They held the public hostage for three weeks, canceled healthcare coverage for the drivers and their families, and threatened to hire strikebreaking replacement workers, intending to intimidate the drivers at the negotiating table. In the face of all this, the drivers showed tremendous courage and unity, while the public and other unions rallied to the drivers’ side.
Now the drivers are headed back to work stronger than ever before, having developed many new rank and file leaders. With the tremendous backing of Teamsters Local 597, other unions and the community, they will continue to win the respect and dignified work that they deserve.
There will be a victory celebration this evening, April 3rd at 5:00 pm at Church and Cherry Streets, Burlington.
At 4:00pm immediately before the rally, a community delegation will be attending a special meeting of the CCTA Board of Commissioners to deliver a petition signed by over 500 community members calling for new management at CCTA. This meeting is at Shelburne Town Hall on 5420 Shelburne Road.
###
Walking Off the Bus: Video documentary of the strike of the CCTA bus drivers
Dear community members,
CCTA bus drivers, riders, and members of the Burlington community were hopeful that after two weeks of pickets and public displays of support, new negotiations would bring an end to the strike. But even after the union agreed to give ground, management failed to reciprocate. While drivers and riders alike face great hardship, CCTA management has stonewalled and seems determined to prolong the strike.
With a highly publicized train crash linked to driver fatigue in Chicago, and in the light of persistent links between driver fatigue and road accidents, the drivers are right to stick to their principles. They are defending us; we need to stand with them.
#1 Public Safety
• Drivers now face a base split shift spread time of 12.5 hours and can be forced to work a spread time of 15 hours. Management wants to increase the base spread time to 13.5 hours. Drivers say ‘No, it is not safe.’
• Driver fatigue is the leading cause of accidents in the transit industry.
• School children, the elderly, and the disabled rely on public transportation—and we all share the road.
#2 Human rights and quality of life
• Drivers face routine abuse: restrictive surveillance and arbitrary discipline, lack of bathroom breaks, and violation of constitutional rights to speak out about management’s neglect of public safety.
• New immigrant drivers face discrimination for cultural/religious holidays. Some progress has been made; more is needed.
#3 Livable jobs
• CCTA management has relied on lower wage, part-time drivers.
• Vermonters can’t make ends meet with part-time labor, especially Chittenden County. We are standing up to this dangerous trend to protect the quality of jobs available to Vermonters in our area.
What you can do to support the drivers:
All Chittenden County towns fund CCTA. Call your selectman, councilor, or representative. What are they doing to hold CCTA accountable to its obligations to provide safe and reliable service? Is Bill Watterson, CCTA General Manager, permanently hurting public transportation services by prolonging this strike and jeopardizing funding?
Community outreach—invite a driver to speak at your church, group, or workplace:
Call 802-988-0197. email [email protected]
CCTA bus drivers, riders, and members of the Burlington community were hopeful that after two weeks of pickets and public displays of support, new negotiations would bring an end to the strike. But even after the union agreed to give ground, management failed to reciprocate. While drivers and riders alike face great hardship, CCTA management has stonewalled and seems determined to prolong the strike.
With a highly publicized train crash linked to driver fatigue in Chicago, and in the light of persistent links between driver fatigue and road accidents, the drivers are right to stick to their principles. They are defending us; we need to stand with them.
#1 Public Safety
• Drivers now face a base split shift spread time of 12.5 hours and can be forced to work a spread time of 15 hours. Management wants to increase the base spread time to 13.5 hours. Drivers say ‘No, it is not safe.’
• Driver fatigue is the leading cause of accidents in the transit industry.
• School children, the elderly, and the disabled rely on public transportation—and we all share the road.
#2 Human rights and quality of life
• Drivers face routine abuse: restrictive surveillance and arbitrary discipline, lack of bathroom breaks, and violation of constitutional rights to speak out about management’s neglect of public safety.
• New immigrant drivers face discrimination for cultural/religious holidays. Some progress has been made; more is needed.
#3 Livable jobs
• CCTA management has relied on lower wage, part-time drivers.
• Vermonters can’t make ends meet with part-time labor, especially Chittenden County. We are standing up to this dangerous trend to protect the quality of jobs available to Vermonters in our area.
What you can do to support the drivers:
All Chittenden County towns fund CCTA. Call your selectman, councilor, or representative. What are they doing to hold CCTA accountable to its obligations to provide safe and reliable service? Is Bill Watterson, CCTA General Manager, permanently hurting public transportation services by prolonging this strike and jeopardizing funding?
Community outreach—invite a driver to speak at your church, group, or workplace:
Call 802-988-0197. email [email protected]
IBT 597 March 31st Press Release
The Union presented the last offer from CCTA today. The group voted it down 0 yes 62 no. The issue still at hand is that the drivers want a spread time of 12.50 hours. which is the current industry standard. This is also the current language that the Union and CCTA have been using for the last 3 years. There has been no disruption in service due to the 12.50 issue. The company will not show the Union any facts that shows that they need to move to a longer unsafe 13.50 hour work day. The Union sent new proposals for CCTA's negotiation team to review.
Tony St. Hilaire, Business Agent, Teamsters Local 597
Tony St. Hilaire, Business Agent, Teamsters Local 597
CCTA Management Still on the Attack
Friday the bus drivers went back into negotiations, hopeful that with the huge outpouring of community support and the drivers' resolve, CCTA management had gotten the message: It's time for management to compromise, to back down on its push for 13.5 hours day.
But no deal. After nearly 18 hours of negotiating yesterday--with the CCTA drivers offering to allow for a contract that would include more part-time drivers--management still refused to budge on the working conditions that the drivers need for their health and family life and that we need for safe roads.
Please help us get the message out to the public: CCTA management is still on the attack. They think they can starve out the striking drivers, going into at third week without a paycheck, and force a contract that puts the ridership and everyone on the road in peril.
We need to send today an even bigger message:
We are on this bus together.
Drivers' working conditions are the public's safety conditions.
Fair and Humane Contract for the CCTA Drivers - and New Management at CCTA - Now!
Join the community-wide movement for livable jobs and social justice!
The Committee to Support the CCTA Drivers
But no deal. After nearly 18 hours of negotiating yesterday--with the CCTA drivers offering to allow for a contract that would include more part-time drivers--management still refused to budge on the working conditions that the drivers need for their health and family life and that we need for safe roads.
Please help us get the message out to the public: CCTA management is still on the attack. They think they can starve out the striking drivers, going into at third week without a paycheck, and force a contract that puts the ridership and everyone on the road in peril.
We need to send today an even bigger message:
We are on this bus together.
Drivers' working conditions are the public's safety conditions.
Fair and Humane Contract for the CCTA Drivers - and New Management at CCTA - Now!
Join the community-wide movement for livable jobs and social justice!
The Committee to Support the CCTA Drivers
IBT 597 March 29th Press Release
The Union And CCTA meet for 17 hours and the Federal Mediator called the meeting because of no forward movement. The Union offered CCTA as many part-timers as they needed to operate the business. Then CCTA changed their position and tried to make changes to the spread time and proposed the 13.50 hour day that the union rejected during the last round of negotiations. The union kept to the issue of safety and the 12.50 hour day. The union had hope of a resolution to end the strike. The current working conditions are a 12.50 hour day. There are no further negotiations scheduled at this time.
Tony St. Hilaire, Business Agent, Teamsters Local 597
Tony St. Hilaire, Business Agent, Teamsters Local 597
IBT 597 March 22nd Press Release
After a 7 hour session the Union identified 2 Major issues. The company came to the table and was unwilling to address the two issues that lead to a 100% rejection of their last contract offer on 3-12-14. The message was made clear to the company that the acceptance of any contract offer by their employees would be dependent on their acceptance of the Unions proposal. The company did not produce a change in the discipline article. this has been a very important issue for the membership. There are no further negotiations scheduled at this time.
What We Want
CCTA BUS DRIVERS SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE
PRESS RELEASE
For Information:
Chuck Norris-Brown, CCTA driver (retired
[email protected]
March 17, 2014
Statement from a retired CCTA bus driver, on behalf of striking CCTA bus drivers:
CCTA management claims that they have goals and want to negotiate a fair contract. This implies that we do not have goals or want a fair contract. CCTA claims that we need binding arbitration. We feel we are fully capable to speak for ourselves. The drivers do not believe that an outside mediator knows anything about bus drivers’ workdays. We are fed up with having our proposals not treated with respect and hacked away at. We have reached our limit.
We are professionals. We expect to be treated like professionals. We are not asking for the world on a silver platter. We are just asking for a place of dignity, respect, safety and the chance for some happiness in our job. As professionals, we can help make CCTA a model transit agency and something our community can be proud of.
Driver Compensation: The drivers are not striking because they are the “second-highest paid transit drivers in northern New England.” This reference is a dirty trick by management to make the drivers look bad. As has been said many times, this is not one of the contentious issues.
Part-time drivers: Read the fact-finder report on page 49: CCTA “... has made it plain that the growth area of the bargaining unit in the future will be in part-timers ... It intends to cover ... peak service times with part-time drivers.” This should instill a fear in all working people: the fear that managers everywhere will find ways to turn real full-time work into some form of lower wage, no-benefit part time work. The CCTA drivers are taking a stand against this trend. We will work hard to keep CCTA from turning good full-time work into part time work.
Spread Time and Hours: Management incompetence should not fall on the heads of the drivers. By learning to schedule better like other transit agencies do, incorporating reserve drivers into full time schedules, easing the work load by intelligent route expansion, summer schedules, new flow patterns, etc., CCTA does not need to hammer part-time drivers and longer work days onto the drivers.
Management keeps bashing the drivers on the 13.5 hour spread time by saying it is a union proposal. There is more to it than that. The drivers are not convinced that extending the spread time will make for better work schedules. The current contract requires at least 60% of the bids to be 40 hour, and there is now a total of 72% 40 hour bids - this is with a 12.5 hour spread. In other words, CCTA is saying that extending the spread time will put them at the goal of 70% that the company says they want to be at with the 13.5 hrs. They just proved they can do it and do it better with the 12.5 hour spread time.
Other transit agencies restrict spread time. Some even pay time and a half after 10.5 hours, so why does CCTA want to push their drivers towards the high end of spread times? Is it so they can have total control over a driver’s working time as well as his/her free time? Or is it so that management just refuses to budge on this because some drivers have better ideas on how to make it work? True leadership opportunities offer employees the chance to shine and be their best, not a chance to punish.
Driver Working Conditions: For our safety and yours, we want better options on real breaks and no ad hoc rules posted as to when, for example, when we can stop to use the rest rooms. Rule postings like this and other directives are part of a management culture that shows little respect for drivers.
Supervision: We realize the importance of security cameras. We demand that CCTA stop abusing the disciplinary options to treat us like children. We demand to be treated with dignity – training and not attacking. We demand protection against the increase in the use of disciplinary video surveillance. Anonymous complaints are not and should not be allowed as the basis of any disciplinary action. Being treated without respect demeans our professionalism. When added to tiring work schedules, it creates unsafe driving conditions and a toxic work environment at CCTA.
Labor Relations: To be treated professionally, we demand that CCTA’s committees treat drivers’ issues with the dignity they deserve. You do not need to hide behind mediators to resolve differences. If CCTA is the venerable transit agency they claim to be, then the contract wording in discipline that the drivers want should not be difficult to accept.
Grievances should be treated with respect and collaboration, and CCTA’s promise to provide a better forum for employee input must be treated as something more than empty promises. We want a place in this world where safety is not just a slogan but a cherished principle and way of life! We want a place in this world where opening your mailbox at work is not an exercise in terror, but just another thing you do to start your day! A place in this world where a mistake is just a mistake, not the end of a career.
We are all on this bus together and together we can make it run.
Compiled by C. W. Norris-Brown, CCTA driver (retired)
PRESS RELEASE
For Information:
Chuck Norris-Brown, CCTA driver (retired
[email protected]
March 17, 2014
Statement from a retired CCTA bus driver, on behalf of striking CCTA bus drivers:
CCTA management claims that they have goals and want to negotiate a fair contract. This implies that we do not have goals or want a fair contract. CCTA claims that we need binding arbitration. We feel we are fully capable to speak for ourselves. The drivers do not believe that an outside mediator knows anything about bus drivers’ workdays. We are fed up with having our proposals not treated with respect and hacked away at. We have reached our limit.
We are professionals. We expect to be treated like professionals. We are not asking for the world on a silver platter. We are just asking for a place of dignity, respect, safety and the chance for some happiness in our job. As professionals, we can help make CCTA a model transit agency and something our community can be proud of.
Driver Compensation: The drivers are not striking because they are the “second-highest paid transit drivers in northern New England.” This reference is a dirty trick by management to make the drivers look bad. As has been said many times, this is not one of the contentious issues.
Part-time drivers: Read the fact-finder report on page 49: CCTA “... has made it plain that the growth area of the bargaining unit in the future will be in part-timers ... It intends to cover ... peak service times with part-time drivers.” This should instill a fear in all working people: the fear that managers everywhere will find ways to turn real full-time work into some form of lower wage, no-benefit part time work. The CCTA drivers are taking a stand against this trend. We will work hard to keep CCTA from turning good full-time work into part time work.
Spread Time and Hours: Management incompetence should not fall on the heads of the drivers. By learning to schedule better like other transit agencies do, incorporating reserve drivers into full time schedules, easing the work load by intelligent route expansion, summer schedules, new flow patterns, etc., CCTA does not need to hammer part-time drivers and longer work days onto the drivers.
Management keeps bashing the drivers on the 13.5 hour spread time by saying it is a union proposal. There is more to it than that. The drivers are not convinced that extending the spread time will make for better work schedules. The current contract requires at least 60% of the bids to be 40 hour, and there is now a total of 72% 40 hour bids - this is with a 12.5 hour spread. In other words, CCTA is saying that extending the spread time will put them at the goal of 70% that the company says they want to be at with the 13.5 hrs. They just proved they can do it and do it better with the 12.5 hour spread time.
Other transit agencies restrict spread time. Some even pay time and a half after 10.5 hours, so why does CCTA want to push their drivers towards the high end of spread times? Is it so they can have total control over a driver’s working time as well as his/her free time? Or is it so that management just refuses to budge on this because some drivers have better ideas on how to make it work? True leadership opportunities offer employees the chance to shine and be their best, not a chance to punish.
Driver Working Conditions: For our safety and yours, we want better options on real breaks and no ad hoc rules posted as to when, for example, when we can stop to use the rest rooms. Rule postings like this and other directives are part of a management culture that shows little respect for drivers.
Supervision: We realize the importance of security cameras. We demand that CCTA stop abusing the disciplinary options to treat us like children. We demand to be treated with dignity – training and not attacking. We demand protection against the increase in the use of disciplinary video surveillance. Anonymous complaints are not and should not be allowed as the basis of any disciplinary action. Being treated without respect demeans our professionalism. When added to tiring work schedules, it creates unsafe driving conditions and a toxic work environment at CCTA.
Labor Relations: To be treated professionally, we demand that CCTA’s committees treat drivers’ issues with the dignity they deserve. You do not need to hide behind mediators to resolve differences. If CCTA is the venerable transit agency they claim to be, then the contract wording in discipline that the drivers want should not be difficult to accept.
Grievances should be treated with respect and collaboration, and CCTA’s promise to provide a better forum for employee input must be treated as something more than empty promises. We want a place in this world where safety is not just a slogan but a cherished principle and way of life! We want a place in this world where opening your mailbox at work is not an exercise in terror, but just another thing you do to start your day! A place in this world where a mistake is just a mistake, not the end of a career.
We are all on this bus together and together we can make it run.
Compiled by C. W. Norris-Brown, CCTA driver (retired)
70 BHS students turn out in record cold temperatures
to support the CCTA drivers.
to support the CCTA drivers.
Driver's press release, 3/12/14
CCTA BUS DRIVERS – MEMBERS TEAMSTERS LOCAL 597
PRESS RELEASE
For Information:
Rob Slingerland
[email protected]
March 12, 2014
CCTA Bus Drivers Vote Down Offer from Management, Set March 17th Strike Date
Members urge CCTA management to avoid strike and come to the table to settle a fair deal
BURLINGTON – CCTA bus drivers voted overwhelmingly (54-0) today to reject the last best proposal by CCTA management offered after a marathon bargaining session last weekend. A strike date has been set for Monday, March 17th.
The bus drivers have outlined core issues of unfair treatment in the workplace with increased surveillance on buses and at the central worksite, unilateral changes to physical access to breaks while on duty, and proposed changes to increase work shifts that are already set at 12.5 hours. Management also wants to increase the number of part-time workers allowed under the contract.
Driver spokesperson Rob Slingerland said, “Drivers are calling for a fair contract that treats drivers with respect, avoids increasing driver fatigue and creates livable jobs. We are living in a world with more and more part-time jobs. People can’t make ends meet with part-time labor. The drivers can’t live under the terms of management’s last proposal. That’s why it was voted down in such a big way.”
Slingerland said, “Again, we don’t want a disruption in the Chittenden County public transportation system. A strike negatively impacts only two entities – the drivers and the riders of the bus system. As soon as management indicates that they are ready to settle a decent contract, one that respects the drivers, then we are ready to accept it.”
The last CCTA bus driver contract expired on June 30, 2013. Bus drivers came close to a strike during the last bargaining round in 2010 but avoided taking a job action when a last minute agreement was reached. At this time, no additional bargaining sessions have been scheduled.
###
PRESS RELEASE
For Information:
Rob Slingerland
[email protected]
March 12, 2014
CCTA Bus Drivers Vote Down Offer from Management, Set March 17th Strike Date
Members urge CCTA management to avoid strike and come to the table to settle a fair deal
BURLINGTON – CCTA bus drivers voted overwhelmingly (54-0) today to reject the last best proposal by CCTA management offered after a marathon bargaining session last weekend. A strike date has been set for Monday, March 17th.
The bus drivers have outlined core issues of unfair treatment in the workplace with increased surveillance on buses and at the central worksite, unilateral changes to physical access to breaks while on duty, and proposed changes to increase work shifts that are already set at 12.5 hours. Management also wants to increase the number of part-time workers allowed under the contract.
Driver spokesperson Rob Slingerland said, “Drivers are calling for a fair contract that treats drivers with respect, avoids increasing driver fatigue and creates livable jobs. We are living in a world with more and more part-time jobs. People can’t make ends meet with part-time labor. The drivers can’t live under the terms of management’s last proposal. That’s why it was voted down in such a big way.”
Slingerland said, “Again, we don’t want a disruption in the Chittenden County public transportation system. A strike negatively impacts only two entities – the drivers and the riders of the bus system. As soon as management indicates that they are ready to settle a decent contract, one that respects the drivers, then we are ready to accept it.”
The last CCTA bus driver contract expired on June 30, 2013. Bus drivers came close to a strike during the last bargaining round in 2010 but avoided taking a job action when a last minute agreement was reached. At this time, no additional bargaining sessions have been scheduled.
###
In early January, the drivers of CCTA and Management, failed to ratify a contract with Management. With a 53 no and 4 yes vote on the company's best and final offer, the drivers are sending a clear message that they have had enough and are standing strong!
Some of the reasons for the strong no vote:
When negotiations began, no meeting was scheduled for the month of April due to vacations on both sides. May, one meeting scheduled for 3 hours. June, two meetings scheduled for three hours each. Another request was asked for the extension for a year and was turned down again by the Union. The Union gave CCTA a thirty day extension, bringing the deadline to July 31st. Four months for negotiating, including one extension and a total of 5 meetings seemed inexcusable from the drivers. They felt CCTA wasn't taking negotiations seriously. With the General Manager (Bill Watterson) sleeping during meetings, ending the meetings at certain times because he had somewhere to go, etc., it was clear to the drivers that CCTA was just wanting to drag negotiations on as long as they could.
Negotiations failed and it then went to Fact-finding. The CCTA was showing their confidence by presenting the drivers with their "Best and Final" offer which led to the 53 no to 4 yes vote, voting their offer down. The CCTA's best and final offer included language that was reintroduced from the 2007-2010 contract, as well as new language that would pave the way for a seriously one-sided contract, basically allowing CCTA's Management to do whatever they wanted.
The drivers are standing stronger than they ever have. With the position of General Manager of Operations being created for Tim Bradshaw, the drivers and the Union have been fighting for their rights on a regular basis. With Tim Bradshaw's "My way or the highway" attitude and the Unions "When we talk, we are ALWAYS wrong" in managements eyes, its no wonder why things have come this far. Again.
The drivers want a fair contract, respect for themselves and respect for that contract. They want to be able to do their job with a smile and then go home. Show your support for that driver whose getting you where you need to go because behind the scenes, its them that are fighting for what's right for them and YOU, the passenger.
Some of the reasons for the strong no vote:
- Safety
- Dignity and Decency
- Harassment from management
- Longer Spread times
- Part-time positions
- Diversity
When negotiations began, no meeting was scheduled for the month of April due to vacations on both sides. May, one meeting scheduled for 3 hours. June, two meetings scheduled for three hours each. Another request was asked for the extension for a year and was turned down again by the Union. The Union gave CCTA a thirty day extension, bringing the deadline to July 31st. Four months for negotiating, including one extension and a total of 5 meetings seemed inexcusable from the drivers. They felt CCTA wasn't taking negotiations seriously. With the General Manager (Bill Watterson) sleeping during meetings, ending the meetings at certain times because he had somewhere to go, etc., it was clear to the drivers that CCTA was just wanting to drag negotiations on as long as they could.
Negotiations failed and it then went to Fact-finding. The CCTA was showing their confidence by presenting the drivers with their "Best and Final" offer which led to the 53 no to 4 yes vote, voting their offer down. The CCTA's best and final offer included language that was reintroduced from the 2007-2010 contract, as well as new language that would pave the way for a seriously one-sided contract, basically allowing CCTA's Management to do whatever they wanted.
The drivers are standing stronger than they ever have. With the position of General Manager of Operations being created for Tim Bradshaw, the drivers and the Union have been fighting for their rights on a regular basis. With Tim Bradshaw's "My way or the highway" attitude and the Unions "When we talk, we are ALWAYS wrong" in managements eyes, its no wonder why things have come this far. Again.
The drivers want a fair contract, respect for themselves and respect for that contract. They want to be able to do their job with a smile and then go home. Show your support for that driver whose getting you where you need to go because behind the scenes, its them that are fighting for what's right for them and YOU, the passenger.