January 18, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Mark Tracy (775) 348-6060, ext. 12
Teamsters
vote 115 to 15 to ratify new three-year contract with Reno-Sparks-Washoe
bus system
Work rules stay in place; wages and benefits increased
RENO, Nev. (1-18-2009) – Teamsters Union members on Sunday
overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the operator of the
Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County's RTC Ride bus
system. The vote was 115 to approve with only 15 against.
The contract includes three years of wage increases starting with
three percent retroactive to June and additional raises of 2.5 percent
in the second and third years of the agreement. It also provides
for additional employer contributions to health care and pension
funds.
"At a time when employees nationwide are taking pay cuts or
having wages frozen, this contract is a true rarity," stated
Teamsters Local 533 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Tracy.
The new contract also keeps longstanding work rules in place. The
work rules issue brought the system close to its second strike in
six years.
"They were trying to unilaterally take away employee rights
which have been guaranteed under federal law since 1935," Tracy
stated.
"Work rules have never been a major sticking point before and
we were puzzled that guidelines which have worked successfully for
a dozen years were put in play," Tracy noted.
"We resisted all company provocations to push us to strike,"
Tracy added. "A walkout was in no one's best interest. Management
was trying to put us out on the street and permanently replace us
with strikebreakers. We would not play that union-busting game,"
Tracy said.
"We have lost 10 full time workers in RTC Ride cutbacks, but
their seniority is protected and they will be the first re-hired,"
Tracy said.
The RTC/Ride bus system is managed by Transit Management of Washoe,
Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based First Transit, which is owned
by FirstGroup of Great Britain. The publicly owned and taxpayer
subsidized RTC/RIDE system is managed by three TMW/First Transit
executives for a fee of about $400,000.00 per year.
Teamsters Local 533 represents about 2,200 workers in a variety
of businesses and government agencies throughout the region, including
all 183 RTC/RIDE drivers, dispatchers and customer service personnel
of whom 156 are union members.
Negotiations have been ongoing since last March. The previous contract
expired on June 12.
On June 15, union members
voted 130 to 2 to reject management's "last, best and final"
offer. TMW system manager Mike Steele agreed to come back to the
bargaining table less than two hours after the voting results were
announced. The workers also voted almost unanimously to authorize
a strike in April. The union struck the bus system
for the first time ever in 2002.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County is comprised
of five elected officials: Reno City Councilmembers David Aiazzi
and Dwight Dortch; Sparks Councilmember Ron Smith and Washoe County
Commissioners Bob Larkin and David Humke.
The history of RTC and Teamsters relations
dating back more than a decade may be accessed at NevadaLabor.com
___________________________
Teamsters Union contact
Mark Tracy (775) 348-6060, ext. 12
RTC/RIDE Bus System TMW-First Transit contact
Mike Steele (775) 335-1834
e-mail msteele@rtcwashoe.com
First Transit/Gayle Gray
Vice President, Human Resources
http://www.firsttransit.com/overview_mgmt.php#anchor_gray
Slapped
in the face by the gauntlet now thrown down
RENO, Nev.
(U-News
Exclusive, Wednesday, July 2, 2008) – Callers to Barbwire.TV
this afternoon broke the news of the collapse of negotiations between
minions of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County
and Teamsters Union Local 533.
Representatives of the foreign-owned management company which runs
the publicly owned transit system reiterated their "last, best
and final offer" which the workers overwhelmingly
turned down 103-2 on June 15.
Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Mark Tracy said "I think (the
vote) sent out a resounding message to (RTC) that they need to get
back to the table and negotiate a fair contract….(It) was not
about economics, not about raises, not about pension costs; it was
totally about not giving up their rights and that’s what the
company wants to do," Tracy told the Sparks Tribune after the
vote.
Tracy called
the proposed contract "way short of near the middle" for
the union.
"(RTC)
just wanted to take their marbles and go home because we wouldn’t
give them what they wanted," Tracy told the newspaper.
After negotiations
collapsed today, Steele vaguely threatened to unilaterally eliminate
longstanding work rules now that the union contract has expired.
Mr. Steele's management contract has also expired, begging the question
of whose interest is being served by all of this stonewalling.
Teamsters principal officer Tracy asked Mr. Steele and his Texas-based
attorney about the recent revelation by First Transit Vice-President
of Human Resources Gayle Gray. Last week, she
told a Teamsters executive that the order to draw a line in the
sand on the issue of work rules came from the Regional Transportation
Commission itself and was not done at the management company's initiative.
The lawyer refused to answer the question, merely stating that he
was fully authorized to negotiate.
If this is negotiation, the Cold War is not over because somebody
is following the old Soviet Union's playbook.
Winston Churchill once advised that there was only one thing you
could depend on in dealing with the Russians: "They will always
act in their own interest."
Da.
"They
are trying to unilaterally take away the rights of the employees,"
Tracy stated, "rights which have been guaranteed to workers
under federal law since 1935. The big question now is who gave the
order to change course," Tracy said.
Wages and benefits have barely been discussed in comparison to the
quibbling on work rules.
Mr. Steele's much-touted offer of a "nine percent pay raise
over three years" is actually a pay cut. Inflation for the
western U.S. has stands at 8.329 percent for the past 12 months.
(See below.)
Teamsters Local 533 represents about 2,200 workers in a variety
of businesses and government agencies throughout the region, including
about 170 RTC/RIDE drivers, dispatchers and customer service personnel.
The previous contract expired on June 12. On June 15, union
members voted 130 to 2 to reject management's "last, best
and final" offer. Mr. Steele agreed to come back to the bargaining
table less than two hours after the voting results were announced.
The union struck the bus system
for the first time ever in 2002.
The Regional
Transportation Commission of Washoe County is comprised of five
elected officials: Reno City Councilmembers David
Aiazzi and Dwight Dortch;
Sparks Councilmember John
Mayer and Washoe County Commissioners Bob
Larkin and David Humke.
The publicly owned and taxpayer subsidized RTC/RIDE system is managed
by three executives from First Transit, a subsidiary of a foreign
corporation, for a fee of $395,760.00 per year.
The workers almost unanimously voted to authorize a strike in April.
The June 15 secret ballot constituted a second strike authorization
vote under the Teamsters constitution.
The history of RTC and Teamsters relations
dating back more than a decade may be accessed at NevadaLabor.com
____
Inflation
for the western United States for the past 12 months
is 8.329 percent: 221.009 for May '08 less 212.680 from June 2007
= +8.329
(Seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics.)
Teamsters
Union contacts
Mark Tracy (775) 348-6060, ext. 12
Rick Middleton (310) 345-7274
RTC/RIDE
Bus System First Transit contact
Mike Steele (775) 335-1834
First Transit
Gayle
Gray, Vice-President, Human Resources
The
RTC RIDE bus system is managed by Transit Management of Washoe,
Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based First Transit, which is owned
by First Group of Great Britain.
Just
following orders: Bus system management company says Regional Transportation
Commission ordered stonewalling on issues leading to impasse and potential
strike
Negotiations with Teamsters Union resume Tuesday,
July 1, 2008
RENO (June
30, 2008) — The company that manages the Reno-Sparks-Washoe bus
system says it was just following orders in making formerly uncontested
work rules a make-or-break issue in negotiations with the Teamsters
Union
.
The RTC/Ride bus system is managed by Transit Management of Washoe,
Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based First Transit, which is owned
by FirstGroup of Great Britain.
"We have proceeded under the assumption that bus system manager
Mike Steele made work rules the issue at his own initiative,"
stated Teamsters Local 533 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Tracy.
"Work rules have never been a major sticking point before and
we have been somewhat puzzled that guidelines which have worked successfully
for a dozen years are now in play," Tracy added.
A new perspective
was added to the mix after a recent conversation between two higherups.
"I have dealt with First Transit in contract negotiations all
over the country," stated Teamsters International Representative
Rick Middleton.
"They know that I level with them and they have always leveled
with me. I was somewhat surprised when Gayle Gray, First Transit's
Vice-President of Human Resources, told me that the stumbling block
did not come from her people.
"In a recent conversation, she told me that First Transit has
been acting on direct orders from the Regional Transportation Commission.
She said that 'work rules are not our issue' and that 'RTC says they
can't live with the current work rules anymore.'
"I found that astounding and immediately relayed that information
to Mark Tracy," Middleton said. He chairs the international union's
school bus and mass transit division.
"They are trying to
unilaterally take away the rights of the employees," Tracy stated,
"rights which have been guaranteed to workers under federal law
since 1935. The big question now is who gave the order to change course.
"I will ask that question tomorrow."
Negotiations on a new three-year contract resume on July 1 at John
Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks. A federal mediator will again participate.
Teamsters Local 533 represents about 2,200 workers in a variety of
businesses and government agencies throughout the region, including
about 170 RTC/RIDE drivers, dispatchers and customer service personnel.
The previous contract expired on June 12. On June 15, union members
voted 130 to 2 to reject management's "last, best and final"
offer. Mr. Steele agreed to come back to the bargaining table less
than two hours after the voting results were announced. The union
struck the bus system for the first time ever in 2002.
The Regional
Transportation Commission of Washoe County is comprised of five elected
officials: Reno City Councilmembers David
Aiazzi and Dwight Dortch;
Sparks Councilmember John
Mayer and Washoe County Commissioners Bob
Larkin and David Humke.
Teamsters Union contacts
Mark Tracy (775) 348-6060, ext. 12
Rick Middleton (310) 345-7274
RTC/RIDE Bus System
First Transit contact
Mike Steele (775) 335-1834
First Transit
Gayle
Gray, Vice-President, Human Resources
130
NO vs. 2 YES
Teamsters
overwhelmingly reject Reno-Sparks bus system contract offer (98% no,
2% yes)
Union has
filed charges of illegal unfair labor practices against Regional Transportation
Commission
and foreign-owned management company
RENO, Nev. (June 15) —
Less than two hours after the votes were counted on Sunday, RTC boss
Mike Steele called Teamsters Local 533 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Tracy
and said that bus system representatives would return to the bargaining
table as soon as Steele can contact his Texas lawyer about her availability.
Washoe County bus drivers,
dispatchers and support staff voted to reject the transportation system's
offer by a near-unanimous vote of 130 to two (with one ballot disqualified
for mis-marking).
Last Thursday, the union filed charges of illegal unfair labor practices
with the National Labor Relations Board against the bus system serving
Washoe County and a portion of Carson City.
"By serving us with a 'last, best and final offer' on Tuesday,
management violated the National Labor Relations Act by bargaining
in bad faith," Tracy said.
"They are trying to unilaterally take away the rights of the
employees," Tracy added, "rights which have been guaranteed
to workers under federal law since 1935."
Major issues include RTC/RIDE's push to rewrite or eliminate work
rules, reduction in the number of months allowed for leaves of absence
and refusal to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
with a full holiday schedule allowed to other holidays, a chronic
situation condemned by the Reno-Sparks NAACP.
"They halted negotiations...when their attorney said, ‘If
I can’t get the work rules I want...I’m just going back
home to Texas,’ " Tracy
told the Sparks Tribune. "There was plenty of time to negotiate,
plenty of time for an agreement to be reached and be made," Tracy
said.
"I think now with 130 employees saying no, I think the ball is
in (RTC’s) court," he continued. "It sends a message
loud and clear to this company that there’s something horribly
wrong with this company," he told the Tribune.
"Mr. Steele wants to turn his company into a plantation and his
workers into slaves," Tracy noted to the Reno Gazette-Journal
last week.
At Steele's request, Tracy informed the union members on Sunday that
Steele has threatened to deduct the costs of any strike from the final
bargaining agreement.
The workers did not respond
favorably to the threat.
Teamsters Local 533 represents about 2,200 workers in a variety of
businesses and government agencies throughout the region, including
about 170 RTC/RIDE drivers, dispatchers and customer service personnel.
A total of 162 members
were eligible to vote on Sunday, with 133 or 82 percent casting ballots.
The Regional
Transportation Commission of Washoe County is comprised of five elected
officials: Reno City Councilmembers David
Aiazzi and Dwight Dortch;
Sparks Councilmember John
Mayer and Washoe County Commissioners Bob
Larkin and David Humke.
The publicly owned and taxpayer subsidized RTC/RIDE system is managed
by three executives from First Transit, a subsidiary of a foreign
corporation, for a fee of $395,760.00 per year.
The workers almost unanimously voted to authorize a strike in April.
Sunday's secret ballot constitutes a second strike authorization vote
under the Teamsters constitution.
The history of RTC and Teamsters relations
dating back more than a decade may be accessed at NevadaLabor.com
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