Members of a Phoenix bus union are prepared to go on strike if a deal is not made with a city-contracted service provider by next Thursday.
The potential deal between Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1433 and Transdev, the service provider, includes a 15 percent pay raise over the next five years. There will be a 2.5 percent yearly pay cut over the next three years if the union does not accept the deal by Oct. 15, meaning workers’ salaries will be reduced by a total of 7.5 percent by 2018.
Union members will be voting on whether or not to accept Transdev’s most recent offer on Thursday night.
Union President Bob Bean took issue with the latter part of the deal, which he called the “blackmail” clause.
“Look, a 15 percent pay raise over the next five years, I’ve got no issue with that,” Bean said. “Our biggest issue is this blackmail clause. If I had to wager a bet on whether or not this deal gets passed, I’d say no.”
ATU Local 1433 staged a protest in front of Phoenix City Hall on Tuesday. One of the members shouted “Who runs this city?” and the others replied “A-T-U!” Several voiced their complaints with Transdev’s handling of the situation, including union member Lisa Estrada.
“If I go on strike my own son will miss the bus to high school,” Estrada said.
Local activist Reverend Jarrett Maupin addressed the protesting union members, advising them to stand their ground.
“We’ve got to stay together,” Maupin said. “If we back down now we’re going to suffer like the other unions of this city.”
Transdev operates 34 bus routes in Phoenix. Phoenix Public Transit Department spokesman Matthew Heil said a large number of commuters would be affected if ATU goes on strike.
“We’re going to see about 128,000 passengers boarding all daily routes in the city of Phoenix,” Heil said. “If ATU went on strike there would be a significant impact. For our passengers, these routes are some of the most heavily used.”
Heil said the passengers most impacted by the strike would be those who use it for extended trips that require multiple bus routes.
“Especially in our city where you use connections on the route system to get where you need to go, having a chunk of routes closed is going to make travel much more difficult,” he said.
Transdev General Manager Katrina Heineking said she was surprised and disappointed that the union reacted negatively to what she called their “best and final offer.” Included in the deal are “competitive medical, dental, and vision plans,” and short-term disability and life-insurance benefits, she said.
“These benefits are among the best in the Valley,” Heineking said, “We believe members of ATU Local 1433 will support this fair offer once union leadership has shared all of the details of our proposal with them.”
Contact the reporter at Daniel.Perle@asu.edu.
