Sun Tran bargaining unit employees, including drivers, mechanics, and service island attendants, have rejected Sun Tran’s contract offer and elected to go on strike effective 12:01 a.m. Aug. 6.
“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t come to an agreement. We believe the offer we had on the table was a fair offer and we’re available to continue talking with the negotiating committee should they choose,” said Sun Tran General Manager Kate Riley. “We recognize how important transit service is to our community, so limited weekday service will be provided during the work stoppage for passenger convenience.”
Limited weekday service will run from approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the following routes:
- Route 3 - 6th St./Wilmot
- Route 8 – Broadway
- Route 11 – Alvernon
- Route 16 – Oracle/Ina
- Route 18 – South 6th Avenue
Limited service maps and schedules are available at transit centers, online and by calling Customer Service. Riders are advised to plan accordingly, as buses may be delayed due to overcrowding. As more resources become available, Sun Tran will add more service.
The city of Tucson’s Park Tucson will allow SunGo Card, SunGo ID & Card or SunGo Ticket holders to park in the surface lot on the south east corner of 6th Street at Stone Avenue, at no charge.
Currently employees represented by Teamsters Local 104 receive the following benefits from Sun Tran:
- Average Sun Tran coach operator earns $16.72 per hour. Nearly half of operators are at the top rate of pay of $19.22 per hour, while 62 operators employed for one year or less are paid the entry-level rate of $13.30 per hour.
- 76 percent of Sun Tran mechanics earn the top wage of $22.16 per hour.
- 100 percent of medical and dental coverage for employees and dependents paid by Sun Tran.
- 100 percent of the pension contribution paid by Sun Tran for full-time employees at $2.42 per hour up to 2080 hours.
- 100 percent of short-term disability insurance, term-life insurance and retiree coverage paid by Sun Tran.
- One to five weeks of vacation per year depending on the years of service with the ability to sell back unused time.
- Accrue up to 36 hours annually for good attendance with the ability to convert up to six sick days to personal-leave days with 12 months of perfect attendance.
- 10 holidays each year, including birthday and employment anniversary, and four of which are floating holidays that can be paid out if unused.
- 401(k) voluntary program
The firm and final offer provided by Sun Tran and rejected by Teamsters Local 104 included the following:
- Continued payment of 100 percent of all health and welfare premiums (medical, dental, vision, short-term disability, life), for the employee and their dependents paid by Sun Tran.
- Pension contributions paid by Sun Tran would increase 20 cents, from $2.42 to $2.62 per hour up to 2080 hours in the first year of the contract and up to $2.67 per hour the second year and to 2.72 per hour in the third year.
- Add a paid holiday to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day.
- Increase entry rate of pay for coach operators from $13.30 to $13.80 per hour due to recruitment and retention issues.
Transit services that are not affected by the strike include Sun Van, the City of Tucson’s paratransit service; Sun Link streetcar and Sun Shuttle, neighborhood transportation service provided by the Regional Transportation Authority serving Marana, Oro Valley, Catalina, Sahuarita, Green Valley, San Xavier, Ajo, Rita Ranch and Tucson Estates.
