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Metro Union Officer: County is “Hell Bent on Wrecking” Contract Talks

Politics   August 26, 2010 at 11:54 am Erica C. Barnett

In the Metro union’s most recent newsletter, Amalgamated Transit Union 587 executive board officer Clint DeVoss accuses the King County Council of being “hell bent on wrecking the [contract] negotiations before they start” and strongly suggests that the negotiations will go to arbitration if the council continues to insist on wage and other concessions from the union, which represents 4,000 bus drivers and other Metro employees. “The Council’s political perspective is relevant to the extent that they can make negotiations difficult and drive ATU from the negotiating table to the arbitration table,” DeVoss writes.

The Metro union’s contract is up for renewal this year.

Earlier this month, a union representing 500 county employees agreed to forgo their regular cost-of-living pay increase next year. King County Executive Dow Constantine has said “everything is on the table” in the Metro union negotiations, including wages and employees’ share of benefits. The union has asked for a mediator to join the negotiations in October if the county and union can’t agree on contract terms.




  • Chris

    What’s to arbitrate? A positive COLA when, in the real world it is negative.

    Talk about elitist. Who is this guy, a Martian?

    Chris

  • tpn

    Everyone race to the bottom now. People have been taking a wage cut over the past 30 years, as the purchasing power of the paycheck– even with COLAs…do not keep up with inflation. Now that there is little inflation this year, with an economy in the crapper, everyone is expected to take….more wage cuts?

    So please tell us, when is it ever okay for anyone to get a raise?

  • ivan

    This is not newsworthy, except to ignorant bloggers who have no experience with union negotiations. Statements like this are par for the course, and can be ignored as posturing, regardless of the substance of the argument.

    If the County and the ATU can’t reach agreement, they’ll go to mediation, and if mediation is unsuccessful, to arbitration. If both sides agree to binding arbitration, the arbitrator will rule, the County and the ATU will sign a contract based on the ruling, and life will go on.

    It is encouraging that the union is talking about arbitration, and not a strike. A real reporter would be sounding out the various Council members, to find where the saber-rattling is coming from. The usual suspects, I imagine.

  • http://twitter.com/fattailed fattailed

    So bus drivers are “elitist” now? Bus drivers?

    Seriously?

  • Rob

    Public employees are prohibited by state law from going on strike. See RCW 41.56.120.

  • ivan

    Thanks. I needed that.

  • morning

    If another member of a full time bus driver’s household earns half as much as the driver, the household is in the top 20% of household incomes. If the driver earns over $100,000 and the other earns $30,000 that puts the household just below the top 15%.

    Elite is wrong description but doing very well fits.

  • http://www.joeszilagyi.com/ Joe Szilagyi

    This is indeed pretty run of the mill, and like any other sane union given the environment, this will end up with both sides splitting somehow on a compromise rather than losing jobs.

    It would be good if Publicola outed in public which way each council member is pushing.

  • Anonymous

    The handful of bus operators that made over $100k are putting in some really massive overtime hours. The average wage of full time operators is $47k, less than half of that (and well under the King County median wage):
    http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/are-bus-drivers-overpaid-1/

  • morning

    In 2000, only nineteen drivers made more than $75,000 per year and nonemade over $100,000. After the two sales tax increases, the number who made morethan $75,000 rose to 243 drivers, and now twenty drivers make more than $100,000per year..

    Males had a median income of $45,802 versus $34,321 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,521. About 5.30% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.40% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

  • Johndoe

    The union can not strike.

  • Jilldoe

    gee, and if a bus driver is married to Bill Gates…

    What’s going on here? Is Publicola directly linked to SLOG these days?

  • johnny

    Yes, we’re all racing to the bottom. That’s why we all have smaller houses then in the 80s, less cars, we no longer have video games or those walkman things.

    We’re all much thinner now because we can’t afford to eat as much, and whereas we used to buy the occassional $6 a month subscription to the Z channel, now we only use the rabbit ears to get tv.

    We only have little bitty cars now because gas is so expensive too, and only a few very rich people use things like airplanes. No one eats out either since no one can afford it.

    Yes, since 1980, the standard of living in this country has really taken a dive. That’s why we should continue to pay bus drivers much more than they would make if they had to work for a private company instead earning a silly amount of money for the work they do + benefits + a retirement like us “common people” haven’t seen in a generation.

    Given me a friggin break there tpn, do you actually even believe any of that bs you’re spewing?

  • Harveypuggle

    That would require actual reporting and analysis.

  • Kcmetrodriver

    Other quotes from the DeVoss article NOT mentioned/sensationalized by Erica:

    “The single biggest factor that will determine the outcome of ontract negotiations is the economy and how it effects King County’s financial healthiness.” (note: no headline screaming “Metro Union Officer: Biggest Factor in Contract Negotiations is the Economy”)

  • tpn

    I’ll explain it in more detail, after you remove that turd from your pocket aka “we”.

  • http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/ Jeff Welch

    The contract includes not only wage issues, but issues involving working conditions, health benefits, disciplinary procedures, etc.

  • http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/ Jeff Welch

    The contract includes not only wage issues, but issues involving working conditions, health benefits, disciplinary procedures, etc.

  • http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/ Jeff Welch

    The number of drivers earning $100K is 20 – out of 2,800 drivers.

    That’s less than 1%.

    Guess how many members of the King County Council – or employees of the office of King County Executive earn over $100K per year?

    WHO is “elitist”?

    I did find this though:
    Bus Driver Reveals Lavish Lifestyle
    http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/bus-driver-reveals-lavish-lifestyle/

  • Cave Man

    5 Billion for tunnel
    20 Billion for one HO scale light rail

    Yet, bus drivers make $47K and the government has a hard time finding that money.

    Scammers are yet again stealing the Community Chest.