ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority board ratified a collective bargaining agreement with its bus operators union Thursday, three months after the union threatened a strike over an impasse in contract negotiations.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1774 and RFTA agreed on wage increases for its bus operators after reaching an impasse in September. The two parties reached an agreement just weeks before the union intended to go on strike. The collective bargaining agreement, ratified by union members last week and approved by the RFTA board Thursday, includes nearly across-the-board 5-7% wage increases and a $1,500 increase in bonuses for senior drivers.
“We’ve had drivers who’ve been working for RFTA for years and we’ve had drivers come in now that came up here just for the wages,” ATU Local 1774 President Ed Cortez said. “And although we felt that the wages still weren’t high enough to be able to support the cost of living in this area, we had to make decisions that would allow for the drivers to be able to have at least the better quality of life that they have now.”
When negotiations began in May, the union requested increasing the maximum wage to $43 per hour. RFTA countered with a maximum wage increase to $40 from $38.76, which the union accepted during conversations with RFTA in November.
The approved contract increases the minimum wage to $31.05 up from $30.60. It also decreases the wage increase scale — previously, full-time drivers would reach the maximum wage after seven years, but under the new contract will reach the maximum wage after six years. It is then that drivers will receive an annual $2,500 bonus, up from $1,000.
“We are really pleased that both parties were able to come together,” RFTA CEO Kurt Ravenschlag said during the RFTA board meeting Thursday. “We were committed to finding a resolution, we’re committed to serving our communities that we serve with public transportation, knowing how vital that is to our region, and just really pleased that we were able to get this done.”
The union filed an intent to strike with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in September after reaching an impasse in contract negotiations. It cited refusal from RFTA to accept its proposals on a wage increase, housing stipend proposal and more. The CDLE later approved the intent to strike, which would have occurred in the new year if a collective bargaining agreement was not reached by Dec. 31 when the previous contract was set to expire.
But as that deadline neared with little movement in negotiations, Cortez said union members did not want to strike and would rather maintain its relationship with RFTA leadership to continue negotiating for drivers in the future.
“We decided that for us to go on strike at this moment in time, although we were willing and able to do it, was probably something that we felt would definitely destroy any kind of future positive relationship we could have with RFTA,” Cortez said. “Our drivers were half-in and half-out on going on strike, and we felt coming to this kind of a compromise was the best thing, and RFTA agreed to it.”
ATU Local 1774 represents the roughly 150 bus operators employed by RFTA. About half of them are dues-paying members of the union.
The union and the RFTA board both ratified the contract unanimously. It is effective Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2027.
“I was extremely relieved. This has been extremely stressful for me and my negotiating committee, and just to be able to do this without any more bloodshed I felt was the right thing to do,” Cortez said. “It’s been a long, long road to where we are today, and although we still feel that there’s still room for discussion on wages, we feel that what we were able to get from RFTA during this go around has satisfied our people.”ring; and certification of the mill levy collection rate. Those items on the agenda were not fulfilled by press deadline.