Cap Metro Shifts Routes, Riles Drivers

Capital Metro has made another cost-cutting move in response to its current budget crunch – one that will certainly fuel more charges of union-busting from its workers.

The transit agency shifted the starting points of certain routes between its three garages to reduce "deadhead time" – nonrevenue time spent driving an empty bus from the garage to the route start. According to a Cap Metro statement, "this adjustment is expected to yield an operating efficiency gain of 2,273 hours per year due to more efficient route allocation and reduced deadhead, and is consistent with ongoing system optimization efforts." That amounts to a 0.2% reduction in total yearly operation hours.

That's controversial to the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1091 because each garage uses a different labor contractor. The majority of Cap Metro's routes run out of its main headquarters at 2910 E. Fifth and use drivers and mechanics employed by StarTran, the best-paid workers. Workers employed by Veolia Transportation are based at Cap Metro's East 51st Street garage, and employees of First Transit work from the North Operations Facility on McNeil Road, near Burnet Road and U.S. 183. The labor contracts for those two companies were negotiated separately from StarTran and aren't as lucrative, so the union wants to keep as many jobs as possible with StarTran.

On the surface, the changes may look like an even trade: Routes 37 and 137 (Colony Park and Colony Park Flyer, respectively) moved from StarTran to Veolia, while routes 9 and 201 (Enfield/Travis Heights and Southpark Meadows) went vice versa, and route 243 (Wells Branch) went from Veolia to First Transit. But not all routes are created equal, says union president Jay Wyatt.

"You can't just look at a route off the surface," says Wyatt. "37 is a very heavily traveled route, which means there will be more buses on that route, which means there will be more runs. So it's not an even swap. Now you look at number 9 ... and the 201, those are very small routes." In other words, more hours worked by cheaper employees. Wyatt also disputed the deadhead argument, pointing to Veolia-operated routes that pass near the East Fifth garage.

In response, Wyatt filed a grievance arguing that the shifts were made in violation of the union's StarTran contract, demanding "to bargain over both the decision and the effects of the decision." He asserts that the changes are really about retaliating against ATU for a strike last November. "They've been trying to snatch money any way they can," Wyatt charged, noting a recent proposal that union members forgo contractually obligated raises this year to help the budget.

Responding to the complaint, StarTran General Manager Terry Garcia Crews would only say, "The grievance process will be followed according to the timelines as delineated in the collective bargaining agreement."

Cap Metro spokesman Adam Shaivitz didn't directly respond to the retaliation charge but said, "When evaluating garage assignments, it is Capital Metro's responsibility to the taxpayers to make the most efficient use of our resources." In the past, Cap Metro has denied union-busting and maintains that labor relations are between the union and the contractors.