Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 are preparing for a strike in the wake of an overwhelming vote to reject Metro Transit?s latest contract offer.
Local 1005 members run the public bus system, which provides transportation for hundreds of thousands of Twin Cities residents.
Members turned down a ?restructured final offer? by a vote of 94 percent against and only 6 percent in favor in balloting conducted Sunday and Monday. Local 1005 President Ron Lloyd said the union will file an intent to strike notice in the next day or two and pick a strike date. Any walkout would be preceded by a 10-day ?cooling off? period mandated under state law.
By a similar margin, members rejected another contract offer in January. Lloyd said the union?s 2,200 members cannot live with Metro Transit?s demands to increase health care premiums for working members, cut health care coverage for retirees and freeze wages for a year. Under the proposal, wages would have risen by only 1 percent in the second year of the contract.
?This offer is another $1,500 out of the pockets of our members for family (health care) coverage,? Lloyd said. In the end, many members would be working for less money than they are now.
 |
| Board members count ballots Monday night in the Local 1005 office. Members overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from Metro Transit. |
Lloyd blamed Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Republican-controlled Metropolitan Council for creating a climate in which members were faced with no choice but to reject the contract offer.
?The governor gives orders to the Met Council and to the Legislature,? he noted. ?They cut our budget in the Legislature. The Met Council tells Metro Transit they have to operate on less money.?
Local 1005 members are angry and frustrated ? but ready to walk picketlines if they have to, he said.
For more information
Visit the Local 1005 website, www.atu1005.com
Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 are preparing for a strike in the wake of an overwhelming vote to reject Metro Transit?s latest contract offer.
Local 1005 members run the public bus system, which provides transportation for hundreds of thousands of Twin Cities residents.
Members turned down a ?restructured final offer? by a vote of 94 percent against and only 6 percent in favor in balloting conducted Sunday and Monday. Local 1005 President Ron Lloyd said the union will file an intent to strike notice in the next day or two and pick a strike date. Any walkout would be preceded by a 10-day ?cooling off? period mandated under state law.
By a similar margin, members rejected another contract offer in January. Lloyd said the union?s 2,200 members cannot live with Metro Transit?s demands to increase health care premiums for working members, cut health care coverage for retirees and freeze wages for a year. Under the proposal, wages would have risen by only 1 percent in the second year of the contract.
?This offer is another $1,500 out of the pockets of our members for family (health care) coverage,? Lloyd said. In the end, many members would be working for less money than they are now.
| Board members count ballots Monday night in the Local 1005 office. Members overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from Metro Transit. |
Lloyd blamed Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Republican-controlled Metropolitan Council for creating a climate in which members were faced with no choice but to reject the contract offer.
?The governor gives orders to the Met Council and to the Legislature,? he noted. ?They cut our budget in the Legislature. The Met Council tells Metro Transit they have to operate on less money.?
Local 1005 members are angry and frustrated ? but ready to walk picketlines if they have to, he said.
For more information
Visit the Local 1005 website, www.atu1005.com