Union asks court to enforce Metro pay raises
By: Kytja Weir
Examiner Staff Writer
November 10, 2009
Metro's largest union is seeking court help to enforce binding arbitration that called on the transit agency to give its bus and train operators 3 percent wage increases.
An arbitration panel last week settled a contract dispute by calling on Metro to give the union's 7,700 employees a 3 percent raise each year over the next three years. But Metro officials immediately said they planned to appeal the arbitrators' decision, arguing they could not afford to pay $96 million in raises during such tight economic times.
In turn, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 said Monday that it filed a suit in a U.S. District Court in Greenbelt asking the court to "confirm and enforce" the arbitrators' decision.
"It's unfortunate that the union has to go to court to enforce an award that by law is 'final and binding,'" said Jackie Jeter, the union's president.
The recent arbitration decision was not a complete win for the union, which represents most of Metro's 10,000 employees. They had asked for 6 percent raises. They will pay higher health insurance costs, and they lost retiree health insurance for new hires.
But Metro has said it is facing at least a $22 million shortfall this year and an anticipated $144 million gap next year.
The dispute could stretch out for six months or more.
The dispute could stretch out for six months or more.
The court battles are just the latest tension between the transit agency and its workers. The discontent has been mounting among rank-and-file workers, according to union members, as they feel they have been picked on for minor infractions during a year of hardships and deaths.
Meanwhile, union elections are slated for December so the union is divided among various factions.
The unrest could mean trouble. Last month, bus operators started to follow the letter of the law, even if that meant slowing down buses.
The ATU Local 689 workers don't have far to look for other examples of rebellion.
Philadelphia transit workers ended a six-day strike Monday over a contract dispute, and late last month New York City subway workers protested the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's decision to appeal an arbitration decision that calls for a pay increase.
Metro's workers went on strike in 1974 and had an unauthorized "wildcat" walkout in 1978 over a cost of living increase.
