Press Releases
530 Teamster Represented Employees of Sun Tran Strike
TUCSON, Ariz – The collective bargaining agreement covering more than 530 Teamster represented employees of Sun Tran expired at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015, after negotiations between representatives of Teamsters Local Union 104 and Professional Transit Management, Inc., dba Sun Tran, failed to reach an agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Teamster members employed at Sun Tran voted to reject Sun Tran management’s firm and final contract offer on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, by an overwhelming margin of 98.91% with 363 employees voting no and only 4 employees voting yes.
An extension of the collective bargaining agreement until 11:59 p.m. Wed., Aug. 5, 2015, allowed both the union and the company to engage in additional negotiations utilizing the services of a federal mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS). However, the bargaining representatives of Sun Tran made no changes to the firm and final offer that was overwhelmingly rejected on Saturday and informed the Teamster representatives that no further improvements to the offer would be presented.
Teamsters Local Union 104 has filed unfair labor practice charges against Professional Transit Management, Inc. The union still had a large number of open negotiation proposals when the company presented the union with a firm and final offer effectively ending the negotiations. Several of the unresolved open issues involve the safety and health of Sun Tran employees such as continued assaults on Sun Tran drivers, numbering 22 over the past 13 months, and include a driver being stabbed multiple times. Additionally, the unresolved mold contamination afflicting the north maintenance facility continues to cause respiratory and health hazards to the maintenance employees working there.
Another major issue revolves around the independent audit of Sun Tran’s financial operations which clearly proves that Professional Transit Management, Inc., did not utilize funds totaling more than $2.2 million dollars in 2013 and 2014 that had already been approved in the transit budget specifically for wages and benefits for the employees, and instead returned those funds to the City of Tucson’s General Fund. This fact is all the more troubling when coupled with the fact that the recently rejected firm and final offer provided for no wage increases, except for a one time fifty cent raise for new hires, for all three years and a continuation of the wage progression freeze.
The fifteen, thirty and sixty second video messages linked below address important issues affecting not only the striking Sun Tran employees, but also the passengers of Sun Tran. The videos will continue to air at various times throughout the day on several local area television stations and will continue moving forward as necessary to ensure that the public has access to accurate information regarding the ongoing strike.
The various videos can be viewed by anyone by utilizing the links listed below:
Assault English
Assault Spanish
Mold English
Mold Spanish
Maintenance English
Maintenance Spanish
Financial/Budget Audit English
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