Metro Transit workers approve new contract, avert strike
Following a year of difficult negotiations, the union representing more than 2,300 bus drivers, light-rail operators and others approved a new contract this week, averting a strike.
Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005 overwhelmingly ratified the new three-year pact, with 71% voting in favor, and 29% opposing the deal.
Roughly a third of ATU's 2,350 members, which also includes cleaners and clerks at the transit agency, voted on the tentative contract during in-person voting Sunday and Monday.
The agreement calls for a 6.5% wage increase over the life of the contract, retroactive to July 25, 2020, a $1,000 one-time bonus and improved sick leave.
ATU Local 1005 President Ryan Timlin said the goal of the contract was to recognize the contributions of transit workers as "front-line heroes" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The union fought hard for additional "hazard pay" to recognize Metro Transit workers who clocked in during the pandemic, when service on buses and trains was curtailed to essential trips.
But in the end, hazard pay was not included in the deal approved by members.
"It's bittersweet," Timlin said Tuesday, noting the union will lobby the Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz for hazard pay.
In September, members voted overwhelmingly to reject a contract offer extended by Metro Transit, largely due to the lack of hazard pay in the proposal, and authorized a strike if talks continued to stall.
The vote this week averts a strike, but there appears to be some lingering bad feelings on the union's side.
"I want to be clear: we aren't here because of the generosity of the Metropolitan Council," Timlin said in a statement. "We got here because Local 1005 members mobilized again and again, in the sweltering heat and freezing cold, to push back against a pattern of abuse, disrespect, and greed at Metro Transit."
Metro Transit was not immediately available for comment.
Ridership on public transportation plummeted during the pandemic, and is still a fraction of what it was before the outbreak. As of last week, ridership is roughly 40% to 45% of what it was before the pandemic.
It's unclear when passengers will return to public transportation, especially after large employers Target, U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo have delayed employees' return to their downtown offices.
Still, Timlin said ratification of the contract is a "step in the right direction."
The Met Council needs to approve the deal.
Janet Moore • 612-673-7752
@MetroTransit
