Striking drivers on the first day of the strike, March 17 2014.
Via.
I am really surprised I haven't seen this diaried here before, but it doesn't seem to have been. So here goes.
Two Mondays ago, drivers for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA), acting united as Teamsters Local 597, walked off the job after negotiations for a new contract that had been going on for nearly a year broke down. They're upset about issues including:
- Safety
- Dignity and Decency
- Harassment from management
- Longer Spread times [time between morning and evening rush]
- Part-time positions
- Diversity
The main issue is the Dignity and Decency one; apparently there isn't much of it at CCTA. Management seems to have a habit of taking "anonymous" complaints as reason to go through video surveillance and persecute drivers on charges that often come out as being false. Drivers have reported being so tight for time they have to wet their pants instead of using their restrooms.
More info on the strike and what you can do to help underneath the Orange Cloud of Doom.
For some background: the CCTA (chartered 1973) is a regional transport authority serving eight local communities including Burlington, with long-distance busses to and local service in several other counties in Vermont. It serves nearly 10,000 riders daily, including around 2,700 students (Burlington schools have limited bus service, relying mainly on the CCTA). If I recall correctly, out of ~80 drivers in the bargaining unit, 59 are members of Local 597.
The current drivers' contract expires at the end of June this year (it's since been extended to July 31). Negotiations have been underway since April 2013, and they reached an impasse in January. Unlike in most negotiation disputes, driver pay is not the main issue. Instead, drivers are demanding better working conditions and more protections from management's harassing behavior. They are also trying to stave off the move toward part-time labor for peak times. Much more info can be found on the drivers' website.
As things stand now, negotiations are continuing on no set schedule. Drivers have walked out of negotiations multiple times, and have twice rejected management's attempts to go to "binding arbitration", in which an independent arbitrator would come in and decide a compromise that both sides would be required to agree to. The drivers' position is that they have compromised as far as they ever will on issues of driver safety and workplace dignity, and that any further compromise would be a loss for drivers and riders.
Public support for this strike has been incredible. There have been pickets at Church and Cherry, the main station in Burlington, every day since the strike began, with members of the public there every day. Local unions have also showed support, with representatives of such unions as United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers Local 267 (food workers), VT Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5221 (nurses), and United Academics (faculty at the University of Vermont) sending time, money and people to help the drivers. An informal Facebook poll by local new channel WCAX currently has 86% (out of more than 300 voters) supporting the striking drivers.
Just last night, at a meeting of the Burlington City Council, 150 supporters packed the auditorium and successfully petitioned the Council to NOT include language calling on both sides to go to binding arbitration in a resolution they passed. (Free Press.)
So how can you help? First, check out the drivers' website. You can also donate to Burlington's Peace and Justice Center with the "Designation" CCTA Community Solidarity Fund. There's an AFT-sponsored petition calling on management to stop delaying and negotiate in good faith (which I have signed) and a Vermont Workers' Center-sponsored petition calling for new management at CCTA (which I have not signed). There's also a community Facebook page. And of course, if you're in the Burlington area, you can come down to the picket line at Church and Cherry every day, 7am to 7pm! There's a big rally planned for this Saturday at noon.
Local news: Seven Days, WCAX, Free Press.