Bus Negotiations Headed for Collision

With both sides describing their last round of negotiations as unproductive, the possibility that the 800-member Amalgamated Transit Union 1091 will be on strike against Capital Metro as you read this is very real. ATU 1091 met Friday with StarTran, Cap Metro's subcontractor, in their last attempt to reach an agreement; the union has operated without a contract for several months. A press release prominently posted on Cap Metro's Web site (www.capmetro.org) describes the situation as at an "impasse," a legal requirement for the StarTran to impose its "last, best and final offer" on the union, which it threatened to do at the close of business Monday, Dec. 12.

After altering a highly controversial two-tier wage scale (under which new hires would start at substantially less than current starting wages, and would be capped from reaching the maximum pay currently allowed), StarTran proposed a nine-year wage scale, requiring that time for new employees to earn the top rate. StarTran's pending proposal shortens the wage-progression to five years, with new bus operators starting at 60% of top wages; it also installs a five-year, 67.5% progression scale for service employees, and shortens the contract length from three to two years. The company blames the union for the stalemate, saying union negotiators "backtracked" from previous agreements concerning health care.

ATU 1091, meanwhile, sees StarTran's proposed increase in dependent health care costs from 10% to 15% (i.e., a 50% hike) as untenable, and instead proposed a 20% increase, to 12%, especially in light of the company's reduction of a 3% annual raise to 2%. The union still considers StarTran's proposal unworkable. They do not agree with starting employees at 60%; the union was willing to drop from the current 75% to 65%. (There are additional differences over the wage scale for service employees.)

The union also rejects management's proposal to require members to reauthorize their union dues as "equivalent to Union recertification, and just another example of StarTran's union-busting attitude." During the eight months of negotiations, ATU 1091 has also repeatedly characterized StarTran and its negotiating decisions as illegally controlled by Capital Metro through the actions of Jeff Londa, attorney for both organizations. (Last week, the Chronicle incompletely quoted Cap Metro's vice-president of Communications Rick L'Amie in saying he was unsure if Londa's $4,500 bill for Nov. 28 negotiations was accurate; in a subsequent conversation, he confirmed the sum, but said it reflected the longest day Londa spent in negotiations).

The parties appear to be closer to a settlement, but the declaration of an impasse is troubling, especially considering the union's declared threat of a strike should the company unilaterally impose an unacceptable offer. Business / Economy