SFMTA denies TWU 250 A Muni operators’ request for wage negotiations

SFMTA denies TWU 250 A Muni operators’ request for wage negotiations
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sfmta-denies-muni-operators-request-for-wage-n...

By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez on January 6, 2016 1:00 am

Muni’s operator union asked Tuesday for another chance to negotiate wages for its newest workers at a regular meeting of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors.

Eric Williams, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 250­A, spoke at a podium in City Hall, asking the board and SFMTA head Ed Reiskin for another chance to negotiate.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve all seen the newspaper about particular issues surrounding wage correction,” he said. “Hopefully we can talk more about that.”

Williams continued, “Hopefully we can talk about individuals you employ, who are barely making it in this region.”

He said it’s not about “whose fault it is, let’s get by that,” but that operators need help.

At the meeting, neither the SFMTA’s board, nor management, responded to Williams’ request to talk about wages.

In a statement to the San Francisco Examiner, SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said re­opening the contract was unlikely.

“No, we are halfway through a three-­year contract we negotiated in good faith,” Rose said, “which provides fair compensation for the great work our operators do every day.”

Last week, the Examiner reported new Muni operators are struggling to make ends meet because of a quirk in the newest contract.

Although Muni operators generally make $60­,000-$70,000 annually and enjoy generous benefits, newer operators make 63 percent of those wages when they begin driving a bus.

Previously, the “step” increases in their wages took place over 18 months. Under the contract Williams and the SFMTA negotiated in 2014 — and which operators voted to approve — operators hired after July 2014 take five
years to reach full pay.

Many operators, with families in particular, told the Examiner they live near poverty during the years it takes to reach full pay. The federal poverty line is $24,250 for a family of four.

Some said they worked second or third jobs, which they said may cause them to drive dangerously due to being tired.