Bus Drivers Back at the Table

Bus drivers' union Amalgamated Transit Union 1091 is set to resume talks with Capital Metro labor subcontractor StarTran soon, despite last week's landslide vote to reject the company's final contract proposal and authorize a strike. StarTran General Manager Terry Garcia Crews wrote a letter on Friday to union President Jay Wyatt accepting his invitation to return to collective bargaining under the guidance of a federal mediator.

Labor talks have plodded along at a snail's pace since the union's contract expired more than a year ago, and according to the union, there's been so little negotiating at the negotiating table, it might be more appropriate to start referring to it as just "the table." StarTran "is just going through the motions," Wyatt said. He complained that StarTran's "final" proposal was exactly the same as its first and that the company never considered the union's concessions or asked for more.

But now the story has changed. With nearly 90% of the voting membership ready to take to the picket line, StarTran's last, best, and final offer is suddenly a lot less final.

The company is offering the union a 10% increase in pay over the next two years, plus a $1,000 bonus. But, of course, it's not the raise that has the union riled. Accompanying the bump in pay is a new health-care plan that includes increased out-of-pocket expenses: higher co-payments for medicine and doctor visits, 10% of costs for hospital visits (up to an out-of-pocket maximum of $1,500 for individuals, $3,000 for families), plus a deductible for the first time.

StarTran management contends that they are being pushed to trim the budget because of rising fuel costs coupled with the slow growth of sales-tax revenue, which is Capital Metro's primary funding source. StarTran says the company is currently paying $1,300 a month per employee. The union has offered wage concessions to save its current health plan, but Crews says it's not enough to cover the high costs.

Capital Metro board member Mike Mar­tin­ez said he believes the two parties can compromise and a strike can be avoided. He said that while he feels StarTran's offer is fair overall, the union has a number of legitimate concerns that need to be addressed. "Based on Wednesday's vote, we've got a lot of work to do," he said. Martinez, who negotiated contracts for the Austin firefighters' union, said that one clause in the contract, which allows StarTran to unilaterally change health-care providers without union approval, is particularly hard for the union to stomach. "I wouldn't expect them to say or feel any other way," he said.

Meanwhile, Capital Metro is preparing for the worst. As the union went to vote, Capital Metro released contingency plans for replacement workers and reduced service, in the event of a strike. For now, that strike no longer appears imminent; negotiations will resume Sept. 10.