MINNEAPOLIS - The executive board of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 is recommending that members vote “no” and reject a “final” contract offer from Metro Transit in balloting that will take place this Sunday, Feb. 14, and Monday, Feb. 15.
Members will get to review a copy of the contract offer beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Ramada MSP Airport at the Mall hotel (located near the Mall of America), 2300 East American Blvd., Bloomington. The contract will be discussed at a membership meeting beginning at 11 a.m., with voting beginning at the conclusion of the meeting and continuing until 4 p.m.
The following day, Monday, Feb. 15, members also may vote on the contract offer from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the United Labor Centre, 312 Central Ave., Minneapolis.
“This is not a strike authorization vote,” said ATU Local 1005 president Mark Lawson. “We’re just voting on the offer.”
Until Local 1005 members get a chance to review the contract offer and vote, “we’re not commenting publicly on the details,” Lawson said.
After months of protracted negotiations to renew a contract which expired July 31, 2015, Metro Transit present its “final” offer the first week of February. The ATU Local 1005 executive board voted February 5 to recommend that the membership vote “no” on the offer.
If members reject the contract, Metro Transit has agreed to another mediation date March 31, according to the ATU Local 1005 website.
The contract covers about 2,400 workers, including bus operators and mechanics, light rail operators and mechanics, and other support personnel. Under Minnesota law, the expired contract will continue to be in effect on a day-to-day basis until a new agreement is reached.