By Michelle Baker
According to union president Gary Watson, members of Teamsters Local 533 reached a tentative contract agreement with Keolis North America on Saturday, July 13. The union members will vote on the agreement before July 26, averting a potential union strike.
Watson said Keolis, the contractor responsible for hiring and managing employees for the Washoe Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) transit system, had walked out of negotiations before the members’ contract expired on June 30. The union voted to authorize a strike on July 7.
https://thisisreno.com/2024/07/video-bus-drivers-prepare-for-another-strike-against-keolis/
The tentative agreement addresses both economic and non-economic factors that the union was demanding for their newest contract.
Among the new contract provisions, employees would receive more paid time off including for domestic violence leave and the Juneteenth holiday, and be able to accrue more sick time before retirement than previously allowed. Bus drivers who train employees would receive extra hourly pay, and allowances for boots, shoes and technicians’ tools would also be provided.
Union members also negotiated to receive pay for time on leave during an investigation, a shortened timeline for Keolis to discipline employees and the elimination of mandatory mediation in the grievance procedure.
The union represents 200 bus drivers, dispatchers, road supervisors and technicians for the RTC, the region’s largest public transit provider. In an interview with This Is Reno last week, Watson said that while the union was prepared to strike, its priority was to get a new contract for its members.
“The ultimate goal here is to get a contract for our members that’s acceptable to our members,” Watson said. “It’s not to take this employer out for a fourth time in two-and-a-half years on strike.”
Keolis spokesperson Rachel Gattuso declined to comment on the agreement which has yet to be ratified. She said a vote is expected “in the next few weeks.”
