Phoenix-area bus strike to shut down 40 routes
Source: Arizona Republic
Tens of thousands of Southeast Valley residents who rely on buses to get to work were warned to find alternative transportation Thursday morning after drivers turned down their transit company’s final offer and voted overwhelmingly to strike.
Officials with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433, which represents about 400 southeast Valley bus drivers, said Wednesday that drivers were expected to start picketing the Mesa and Tempe operations centers of First Transit company at midnight today.
“The members rejected the employers’ best and final offer by 95 percent,” union negotiator Michael Cornelius told The Arizona Republic. “The strike will happen by midnight.”
... The central issue in the dispute does not involve wages, union officials say. Rather, it involves “management rights” with First Transit’s operating contract with the Valley Metro Regional Transportation Authority. The union fears RPTA could order First Transit to violate the union’s labor agreement by unilaterally reducing driver wages or cutting work hours.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/20130731east-valley-bus-strike-routes-shut-down.html