SPRINGFIELD – A union representing PVTA drivers, mechanics and supervisors on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer the transit agency described as the “last best” offer from its management company.
The vote was 181 against the offer, to two votes in favor.
“It’s wages and other things,” said Jim Harrington, business and financial secretary for Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 448 in Springfield. “Coming out of what our drivers went through during COVID, we just wanted to be treated fairly.”
He said bus drivers are still getting sick with COVID and are dealing with a shortage of drivers. New bus schedules shorten the time available to complete routes and set unrealistic time timetables, the union says. When buses are inevitably late, passengers turn their frustration on drivers.
The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority warned earlier this week that ongoing labor negotiations with the drivers and mechanics union could disrupt service in Hampden County.
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 448 represents 225 drivers, mechanics, supervisors and some office workers based at the PVTA’s Springfield garage. The contract expires Aug. 31.
A contractor, DGR Management Inc., manages the service and the unionized employees technically work for DGR.
Local 448 voted weeks ago to authorize a strike as part of negotiations that began in March, Harrington said
With the failure of Tuesday’s vote, the union will take another vote Saturday over whether or not to go on strike starting Sunday, Sept. 1.
“Unless they want to talk to us,” Harrington said.
Any strike would stop bus service in the Springfield area and Hampden County.
Bus service in Northampton and UMass Transit, as well as paratransit van service and shuttles, will still be operating.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1459 based in Springfield represents 35 to 40 PVTA workers in Hampshire County, said the local’s president, Jeff Jones. Jones said his local would support the Hampden County union and not go south of Holyoke. That is as far south as its members normally drive.
The UFCW bargaining unit’s contract is up next year, said Jones, who also serves as president of the Western Mass Area Labor Federation.
UMass spokeswoman Melinda Rose said the PVTA has informed the university that its bus service will not be disrupted.
The wage offer
PVTA spokeswoman Brandy Pelletier said management company DGR Management Inc. (DGR) sweetened its offer following passage of the new state budget.
That budget allocated $10 million more than the previous budget to all Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities for operating assistance. PVTA’s share of this is approximately $3 million.
Pelletier said the offer includes wage increases of 10% over the three-year contract period. As proposed to the union, in Year 1, the new top driver rate would be $32.81 an hour. In Year 2, the top driver rate would be $33.63 an hour and in Year 3, the top driver rate would be $34.47 an hour.
“The salary adjustment of 5% for Year 1 is the maximum amount feasible within the fiscally constrained operating budget,” she said.
In addition to the wage adjustments, other elements of the proposal include: an additional 5% on top of the regular hourly rate for all weekend hours worked and increased pension benefits and changes to salary schedules that would allow drivers to reach the top hourly rate after two years of work, rather than the current five years. Management also added vision insurance to the benefits package.
But the union’s Harrington said PVTA’s rates of pay place it in sixth or eighth place out of the state’s 15 regional transit authorities.
The union’s goal is to pull even with Worcester-area drivers at number two on the list.
“They put an insulting offer on the table and walked away,” Harrington said.
The PVTA is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It provided more than 6.9 million passenger trips in its most recent fiscal year, a number it expects to grow as ridership rebounds from COVID shutdowns. and employment increases.
PVTA management has reported recent ridership gains, as the operation reinstates bus service canceled due to a lack of drivers.
PVTA racks up 4.9 million vehicle miles a year.
The union recognizes that a strike, if it happens, could make it hard for riders to get to work, shop or make other necessary trips.
“We don’t want to shut it down, but we want to get the respect we’re owed. If PVTA won’t do that, they give us no choice but to take action,” Harrington said.
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