PA: Red Rose Transit OKs pay raises for bus drivers and mechanics
Bus drivers, mechanics and other workers with Lancaster County's public transportation provider, Red Rose Transit Authority, will receive 4% annual raises through 2027 under a new contract negotiated by their union, which less than a month ago faced possible decertification.
The transit authority's board voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the three-year contract, which is retroactive to June 1, the day after the old contract expired.
Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1241 approved the contract over the weekend by a 29 to 6 vote. Earlier in the month, the local withstood a decertification petition, with 60 of the 88 members of the bargaining unit electing to keep union representation and six voting against. Not all employees in the bargaining unit are union members.
About one-third of employees signed onto the decertification petition, which was filed in June while contract negotiations were already underway. The authority temporarily paused bargaining sessions, prompting union members to protest outside a July board meeting.
The negotiations also overlapped with a monthslong battle in Harrisburg over Gov. Josh Shapiro's unsuccessful proposal to add dedicated operations funding for transit agencies.
"Under the circumstances it's a fair contract, hard-fought but fair," said Patricia McKenna, president of ATU Local 1241.
Hourly wages for union members range between $21.80 and $35.22 during the first year of the contract. Current employees will get a $1,000 bonus and an increase in pension benefits, while paying the same share of healthcare costs as they do now.
The contract makes it so workers who call off of work without paid leave or an excused absence can't collect overtime during the same week until they reach 40 hours total for that week. The authority pushed for that policy to reduce absenteeism, according to authority's executive director Greg Downing.
"The things we go after are things that will help the service be better," Downing said.
McKenna said absenteeism is an issue, but the authority also has an overall shortage of bus drivers, which forces existing drivers to take mandatory overtime shifts. That has contributed to driver exhaustion and turnover, something she hopes the new contract will help address.
"Hopefully this will help them hang in there until we can get steady retention and long-term employees," she said.
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