Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1091 members voted Wednesday night to pass a new contract that both the union and StarTran created Nov. 7, ending 18 months of negotiations.
The bus service provider and the transit union met last Friday to broker a four-year contract two days into a union strike that shut down much of the bus system. All Capital Metro employees returned to work on Monday.
Capital Metro created StarTran to hire and manage 1,200 employees, many of whom are bus operators.
Of 850 union members, 333 voted in the union’s headquarters off of Airport Boulevard. Union members passed the contract with a 289-to-44 vote.
In past contracts, both parties could not agree to pay increases and health care packages.
The new contract will compensate workers who were not given a raise in 2007 and will expire in June 2011. Members will also receive a $1,200 bonus and pay more for health insurance due to additional deductibles.
“I consider [the strike] a success,” union President Jay Wyatt said at a press conference. “We fought a bear with a toothpick.”
Wyatt said the series of negotiations between his union and StarTran had been the worst he’s ever experienced.
In a written statement released by Capital Metro shortly after the vote result was announced at 8 p.m., StarTran General Manager Terry Garcia Crews said the goal of the bus provider is to be an employer of choice that provides excellent benefits.
“We are pleased by the possibility of concluding 18 months of negotiation and securing stability for the community’s transit system through 2011,” Crews said in her statement.
Both the union and the service provider will renegotiate a labor contract upon the expiration of the approved contract, and union members say they are ready to face StarTran again.
Union member Pete Rivera said the various tactics used by both the union and StarTran will help the workers continue to fight for improved conditions.
“We learned a lot about this one,” Rivera said. “We’ll be ready for 2011.”
Rivera joined the union for job security and pay incentives. Rivera said he voted in favor of the contract because of his negative outlook on the economy in general.
Tom McLeod said he voted against the contract to protest the past 18 months of negotiations that took place between the union and StarTran.
“I’m not enraged, I’m not enthusiastic,” McLeod said. “It will be our contract, and I’m going to live with it.”
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