Sources Say Labor And Management Reach Tentative Agreement Weeks After Muni Sickout
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— Three weeks after San Francisco's Muni operators staged a worker "sickout" that brought city buses, trains and cable cars to a halt; the transit agency and union leaders have now reached a tentative agreement.
Sources told KCBS on Friday that San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the Transport Workers Union Local 250 went back to the negotiating table two weeks ago with an arbitrator to resolve a dispute over whether a contract proposal that would require drivers to pay into their pension fund. According to sources a compromise has been reached that will be announced on Monday during the SFMTA's regular meeting.
Muni spokesman Paul Rose wouldn't confirm a settlement, but said talks have been going well.
Sources Say Labor And Management Reach Tentative Agreement Weeks After Muni Sickout
"Since the sick out we've been in ongoing discussions with all parties to make sure that we're working towards finalizing agreement. At this point we're very optimistic that we'll have an agreement in place in July,"
The current contract expires on Monday and operators won't get a pay raise until they ratify a new one. After the sickout, Transportation Agency Director Ed Reiskin threatened to take away some of the operators existing perks, including the grievance procedure, if a new agreement is not in place by the end of the month.
His position is that all other city workers pay into their pension fund so Muni drivers should be expected to do the same.
