CCTA Services Resume After Strike

On Friday, April 4th, Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) buses resumed their regularly scheduled routes.

This decision came after a tense, 18-day standoff between CCTA management leaders and drivers came to an end.

The CCTA board of commissioners and representatives of the bus drivers produced a three-year contract after days of deliberation. The board of commissioners then ratified the contract with a 53 – 6 vote.

The drivers, who were represented by the Teamsters Local 597 chapter, saw the contract as a great victory for working-class Vermonters and for the transportation industry in the state.

After long negotiations, the two parties agreed to fix a 2 percent raise into the salary of all CCTA drivers for each year of the three-year contract. Furthermore, the CCTA management made provisions for a number of workplace concerns that were expressed by dissatisfied drivers.

Chief among the arguments levied by the drivers were concerns about shift lengthening, overly strict rules and penalties, part-time hiring policies, undue invasions of privacy and the observance of religious holidays.

Drivers had been frustrated with working conditions for months preceding the climactic strike, and they were happy to have their conditions met by the management. They are also generally excited to return to work.

“We’re looking forward to going back to work,” said driver Rob Slingerland. “We’re looking around at our fellow drivers and understanding just how unified [we] became through this. And we fully understand we’ve got to stay unified.”

A large swath of the greater Burlington community was significantly affected by the lengthy strike. More than 10,000 regular CCTA customers had to find alternate means of transportation options for the weeks during which the strike was taking place. Among those negatively affected by the strike were students at the University of Vermont (UVM) and at Burlington public schools.

“These past few weeks have been very challenging for Vermonters who count on CCTA every day to get to appointments, to work and to school,” said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin.

As the strike was going on, a number of community members mobilized to assist the drivers and the Teamsters group that represented them. Members of other unions, students and general local residents assisted in strike efforts by handing out leaflets and starting conversations with other community members about CCTA working conditions.

At the conclusion of the contractual negotiations, the drivers walked away with what they considered a victory for themselves and for their customers. The 63 drivers who attended the final negotiation meting expressed thanks to the many community members who demonstrated their solidarity and support during the strike.

“It’s a very good feeling to know that somebody’s got our backs when the times got tough and we ended up striking,” said Slingerland. “[The community members] were there. Now it’s time to pay that back.”

Commuters in the area are happy to have the bus schedule back on track, and many have been even happier to realize that the CCTA has offered local bus rides at no expense for the first half of this week in an effort to apologize for inconvenience caused to customers during the strike.