TARC bus drivers and workers to get long-sought raises

Billy Kobin, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read

A deal reached this week will give TARC bus drivers and other employees raises and backpay and avert the possibility of a strike.

The workers will get a 6% increase in the first year, which goes into effect immediately, and a 4% increase in the second under terms of the deal, with backpay retroactive to Sept. 4. In the first year, starting pay for drivers goes to $19.51 an hour, or about $40,580 a year, and for maintenance workers, to $27.88 an hour, or about $57,990 a year.

The contract was approved by the Transit Authority of River City's board of directors Thursday morning after union members voted to approve it Wednesday.

The deal with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1447, which represents about 450 TARC employees, took months to negotiate, but the vote to approve the deal pumps the brakes on any potential strike, which the union had authorized this fall.

Union President Lillian Brents said 78% of union members voted for the two-year deal. Besides the raises, it includes provisions like:

  • An agreement that TARC will continue to pay 95% of employees’ health care costs;

  • The addition of Juneteenth as a company holiday;

  • Reimbursement for commercial driver's licenses;

  • An increase in instructor pay; and

  • An increase in employees' tool, shoes and uniform allowances.

“I want to be clear: we aren’t here because of the generosity of TARC,” Brents said in a Wednesday night news release. “We got here because Local 1447 members mobilized again and again, in the sweltering heat and freezing cold, to push back against a pattern of abuse, disrespect and greed by TARC leadership."

“There is not one cent in this agreement that we didn’t earn the hard way, and 1447 members should be proud, but that doesn’t mean the debt owed to us is fully paid,” Brents added.

TARC Executive Director Carrie Butler said: “I’m pleased that an agreement has been reached, and we’re proud to offer our Union employees a wage and benefits package that recognizes their hard work, dedication, and professionalism. With a new contract in place, we have much to celebrate and accomplish as we look ahead to the new year.”

The union said it will focus now on working with incoming Mayor Craig Greenberg and Metro Council members to improve "the working conditions, riding conditions (and) safety standards" at TARC.

“We still need to see key pieces of the contract implemented, including the FTA required safety committee, and explore options for increasing funding so (as) to expand public transit," Brents said.

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Before the negotiations ended, Brents had told The Courier Journal starting pay for drivers had currently been about $18.41 an hour and starting pay for maintenance was $26.30 an hour.

The union had voted in October to authorize a strike, the first such move in TARC's history, but the workers did not walk off the job as the ATU and TARC continued to try to sort out differences.

TARC operates 31 fixed routes in Jefferson, Oldham and Bullitt counties and Southern Indiana and employs about 750 personnel: 330 bus drivers, 120 maintenance workers, 150 contractors and 150 staff in administrative roles.

On average, over 37,000 people rode TARC’s fixed routes on a weekday in fiscal year 2021, with 4.4 million total trips, according to the agency’s latest annual report.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville bus drivers, TARC employees vote to approve new contract