Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991 TAG: 9104180528
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Seventy percent of the union's members voted to approve the contract, which continues the pay and fringe benefits provided in a three-year pact that expired April 1. The drivers have been working on a day-by-day basis since then.
The drivers were deeply divided and displayed strong emotions at Wednesday night's union meeting. There was shouting and shoving after the vote, and one female driver said she was assaulted during the melee.
About 40 of the company's 50 drivers are members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1493.
Tommy Mullins, international vice president of the union, said the members agreed to what amounts to a one-year extension of the old contract. He said they did so because they realize Roanoke is in a financial crunch and that it plans to freeze the wages of its employees.
Some drivers were unhappy with the contract, but a majority was willing to work another year with the same pay and benefits because they are realistic about the economic conditions, Mullins said.
The city owns the bus company and uses tax money to subsidize it, but the drivers are not city employees.
Valley Metro management has indicated it will try to consider the union's request for better pay and fringe benefits next year if economic conditions improve, Mullins said.
Maynard Palmer, who has been a driver for 28 years, voted for the contract because he didn't want to strike and possibly lose his job.
"A good job is hard to find these days, and I was willing for everything to stay like it is for another year," he said. The long strike by Greyhound drivers also helped persuade him to vote for the contract.
Barbara Synder, a driver, said she voted to accept the contract because she believed company officials when they said they didn't have the money to increase pay and benefits.
"I don't think they are playing a game. The money is not there and a year is not that long to wait," she said.
The vote came a few hours after union leaders and company representatives met for a final bargaining session. During that meeting, the union agreed that in the event of a strike, it would give two days' notice.
If there had been a strike, Valley Metro was prepared to continue service with the non-union drivers and drivers brought in from other cities, according to Stephen Mancuso, general manager of the company.
Valley Metro also had hired additional security guards for its headquarters building and the downtown Campbell Court terminal after a driver's car was sprayed with paint Tuesday morning.
The last time the drivers struck was in 1975, when there was a five-week walkout after the city acquired the bus system from a private company. A federal mediator was called in to help resolve the differences.
by CNB