TriMet Archives - nwLaborPress

Bus operator Cindy Kassab, a member of ATU Local 747, heads into retirement with honors after a record 47 years driving for TriMet.

ATU Local 757 tells Oregon lawmakers assaults on bus drivers are increasing, and asks to tighten a law classifying such assaults as felonies.

Portland-area transit workers will get raises at the end of this year and next, but otherwise their union contract will remain unchanged.

Amid a severe bus driver shortage, starting pay jumped from $17 to $25.24. Plus a $7,500 sign-on bonus. These are union jobs with benefits.

Attacks on parks workers. Assaults on bus drivers. Safety concerns are driving some employees to leave their jobs altogether.

With a new general manager at TriMet, an era of antagonism between the transit agency and its union may have come to a close.

As contract arbitration neared, TriMet management dropped its proposal to eliminate its apprenticeship program for bus mechanics.

SB 690, a bill introduced by Oregon State Senator Chris Gorsek, would restore the right to strike for public transit workers like bus drivers.

An arbitrator will decide if the transit agency can scrap its mechanic apprenticeship program.

In Eugene and Salem, bus service is now free. In Portland, new machines are disinfecting buses and trains with peroxide mist nightly.