Council stands behind Metro Transit bargaining team
Posted Feb 9, 2012 03:33:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
City Council is standing behind the Metro Transit bargaining team. Local politicians met behind closed doors for two hours Thursday afternoon to discuss the latest fallout in the transit strike.
The big issue for both sides is still ‘rostering’. The city wants to change the way bus drivers are scheduled so that management determines who will cover which shifts. Currently, divers get to choose their shifts based on seniority.
Mayor Peter Kelly says the city’s proposed method of scheduling, ‘rostering’, would help save millions in operating costs.
“Every year, we pay out more than five and a half million dollars in overtime,” Kelly says. “We need to find the efficiencies inside the operation.”
Kelly says the city cannot afford to take ‘rostering’ off the table.
“Our package is worth $2.1-million. There’s is $8.8-million,” he says. “It’s a large spread and the taxpayers cannot bear that $6.7-million cost. Period.”
On the other side, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508 President Ken Wilson says his members are not willing to accept an offer as long as ‘rostering’ is on the table.
No further talks are scheduled.
