S.F., Muni TWU 250 A operators agree on new contract

S.F., Muni TWU 250 A operators agree on new contract
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/City-and-Muni-operators-agree-on-n...
Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle
Updated 3:28 pm, Monday, June 30, 2014

(06-30) 15:26 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and its operators union have reached an agreement on a new contract, MTA Director Ed Reiskin confirmed at the agency's meeting Monday.

Details were not immediately available, but the two sides found common ground on wages, pension and the length of the contract, which will now be three years rather than two as proposed earlier.

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was the key to the agreement between theMTA and Transport Workers Union Local 250-A, which had said Friday evening that there was a tentative agreement. With the contract set to expire, Brown stepped in at the request of Mayor Ed Lee and helped the two sides reach an agreement, something that months of bargaining and a three-day sickout by drivers failed to do.

That wouldn't would have happened without Brown, Reiskin said.

"He's someone who understands the city, understands labor, the underlying interests," the MTA director added. "He was certainly the man here."

Lee asked Brown, who writes a Sunday column for The Chronicle, to step in a couple of weeks ago, Reiskin said.

There was reportedly no talk of compensation for Brown's mediation role.

"I feel like I owe him something," Reiskin said, smiling broadly after the MTA meeting. "We have labor peace at the moment."

Brown himself would not comment.

Details of the agreement were expected to be released by the MTA later Monday.

Union officials were expected to present the terms of the contract to workers Monday night, with a vote scheduled for July 7. If approved, the MTA would vote on the contract July 15.

"Our members are committed to providing quality transit in San Francisco," said Eric Williams, president of TWU Local 250-A. "And we continue to believe the best way to resolve labor-management concerns is through fair and balanced collective bargaining."

The operators overwhelmingly rejected an earlier contract agreement May 30, and then hundreds of drivers called in sick. Like all San Francisco city employees, Muni operators are prohibited from striking.

During the three-day sickout, which the union said it did not organize or sanction, the transit agency had to cancel about two-thirds of its bus, streetcar and Metro runs and all cable car service on the first day. While more drivers reported to work the next two days, the transit system was still hobbled by what was reportedly a grassroots protest by operators.

Negotiations remained tense before Brown's involvement and union officials refused to enter an arbitration process adopted by voters in 2010. MTA officials threatened to withhold raises, stop collecting union dues and eliminate grievances if an agreement was not reached by Monday, June 30.

The previous contract offer rejected by operators would have required them to contribute 7.5 percent to their pension plans while offering a 5.05 percent pay increase. It also offered a 3.25 percent raise on July 1 and a raise of between 2.25 percent and 3.25 percent in 2015. Union representatives said the offer amounted to a pay cut.

City officials said they believed the "creative agreement" would be approved by both the operators and the MTA board.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jtucker@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @jilltucker