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Bus Union Discusses Breakdown In Contract Talks

WAMC/Pat Bradley

The bus strike in Vermont’s most populous county will continue as union contract negotiations stalled over the weekend. WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley was in Burlington on Monday as drivers discussed the failed talks.

It was frigid as reporters gathered for the press conference by Teamsters Local 597 on Church Street in downtown Burlington. But striking bus drivers have been picketing at this hub in 1 degree and lower temperatures for days and say they will continue after weekend negotiations failed to end a weeklong strike.

Drivers’ spokesman Rob Slingerland countered materials issued by management in the wake of Saturday’s breakdown of negotiations. “What in fact did happen when our team walked out was that the CCTA told us they could not meet our demands. In all there may have been two hours of honest bargaining. The rest was management’s lawyer picking at issues in the union’s proposal, stonewalling the whole process.”

As the walkout entered its second week, driver steward Mike Walker was impassioned in his comments on working conditions and lack of progress in negotiations. He says drivers aren’t worried about pay.
“It’s about harassment. It’s abuse. It’s bullying, coercion, predatory management. These are the issues. I’m not worried about a two percent. I’m worried about getting these people treated like people, human beings. We’re in there to change the working conditions, stop their predatory management. Stop their harassment.  And if they don’t like it, drive the bus yourself.”

Among the issues are the use of anonymous complaints as the basis for discipline, the time drivers are idle between driving shifts and the use of part-time or reserve drivers.

CCTA management officials were not at the picket lines on Church Street. Contacted by phone, General Manager Bill Watterson presents a contradictory picture of the weekend negotiations. He said they negotiated in good faith and it was the union that walked out of negotiations.  “CCTA is very committed to doing all that is possible to restore negotiations so that we can reach an agreement and end the strike. This past weekend evidence of that is that CCTA offered compromises toward the position of the drivers’ union with issues that remain unresolved regarding part time drivers and split shifts. CCTA is very much open to continue negotiations and is doing so with the spirit of compromise. Because the important thing for us is to find a way to resolve our remaining differences so that we can reach agreement and end the strike and return to providing services to our customers.”

Back outside, the Vermont Workers Center brought community members to speak in support of the striking drivers. Among them was Rabbi Joshua Chasen, who says the strike appears to be based on respect.  “Listening to the testimony of the drivers, it is clear that management does not trust its own workers. One gets the feeling that management is less interested in settling up than in breaking the the union.”

While the strike is disrupting riders, some walked with the striking workers, including Meaghan Emery of South Burlington.  “What seems to be a lack of humane treatment for the working conditions of these drivers is unacceptable to me. I am with these drivers every day. We greet each other. We know each other.  So I want them to know that they have my support and that I am not angry. I want this to come to some resolution in a way that they feel good about.”

No new negotiating sessions are scheduled.
CCTA claims it delivered a complete compromise proposal, which its says could be put before drivers for a vote. But Rob Slingerland was adamant Monday.  “CCTA did not deliver a compromise proposal.”
CCTA says another option is binding arbitration. Or, the union could offer a counterproposal generating another mediated session. CCTA’s Bill Watterson says it’s up to the drivers’ union to take the next step. But the union believes it’s up to management to take the next step.

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