In a contract vote held March 9, a second unit of TriMet Lift drivers has authorized the union to call a strike.
TriMet Lift is a federally-funded van service that transports senior and disabled people who can’t use regular mass transit in the TriMet service area. TriMet has several contracts with First Transit — a division of the UK-headquartered multinational First Group — to provide the service. First Transit, in turn, has several collective bargaining agreements with employees who are members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757.
One such agreement covers employees dispatched from the Nela yard (2800 NW Nela Street, Portland). Another covers workers dispatched from the Merlo yard (Southwest 158th and Merlo, Beaverton.) Workers at a third location are non-union.
The Nela group voted last year to reject the contract offer and authorize strike; the Merlo group did the same March 9, voting 83 to 8 to reject First Transit’s contract offer. The union negotiating committee recommended rejection.
Local 757 president Jon Hunt says First Transit’s revenue, under its contracts with TriMet, is increasing 4 to 5 percent a year. But its offer to employees is a wage increase that totals 15 percent over five years. And that increase would be more than eaten up by First Transit’s proposal that workers pay more for health insurance. First Transit proposes that full-time workers pay 15 percent of the premium for employee-only coverage, an amount that comes to over $90 a month. Part-timers would pay at least 50 percent of the employee-only premium, and 100 percent for family coverage.
Under the previous contract, which expired Nov. 30, 2011, hourly wages start at $12.92 and rise to $21.23 over 10 years.
Local 757 has argued that TriMet would save money by bringing the work in-house — eliminating duplicate management and the need to pay corporate income tax and deliver a profit.
No strike date had been set as of press time, and a mediation session was scheduled March 22.
