The Amalgamated Transit Union Division 757 has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Lane Transit District in response to a nine-month-long contract dispute that
has resulted in the union declaring a strike date of March 7.
The complaint, dated Feb. 10 and filed with the Oregon Employment Relations Board, outlines 27 points, most involving allegations of a lack of communication on the part of LTD negotiators and unfair bargaining procedures used by the district.
LTD Service Planning and Marketing Manager Andy Vobora said LTD does not see any merit to the complaint, adding that “the
district has bargained in good faith and will continue to do so.”
“We feel it is a strategy the union has used in labor negotiations here and elsewhere,” Vobora said about the complaint.
Jonathan Hunt, vice president for ATU Division 757, said the complaint is a response to LTD’s unfair labor practices, particularly the district’s demand to decrease the amount of time drivers are allotted to inspect the safety of their buses before their shifts begin.
LTD proposes changing the safety inspection time from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, which is the industry standard, according to the LTD Web site.
ATU and LTD are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Feb. 25 and March 4, and both sides say they’re hopeful the negotiations will be successful and a strike will be averted, though they disagree on the best way to do so.
Hunt said the union is hopeful that LTD will reconsider its decision not to allow the LTD/ATU Community Committee to play a role in the negotiation process, which LTD has
already made clear it will not do.
The committee, a group formed in the hope of intervening in the negotiation process and providing an outside expert to examine where the negotiations broke down, met with the LTD Board on Feb. 8 in a meeting the committee said did not produce the answers they were looking for.
According to a Feb. 9 memo from Vobora addressed to LTD partners, “the LTD/ATU Community Committee represents one perspective; however, this perspective does not represent the entire community. … The LTD Board is appointed to represent the entire community and believes that the bargaining process is best served by LTD and ATU participating in negotiations at the bargaining table.”
One of the points in ATU’s unfair labor practice complaint against LTD focuses on the fact that only eight bargaining sessions have taken place so far in the negotiation process.
Vobora said the point does not take into consideration the fact that LTD had to work around the union’s schedule when setting up bargaining sessions and does not consider the fact that there is no requirement in collective bargaining law about the number of times negotiating teams can meet.
Hunt said there are many things driving the disputes in the negotiation process and the union is prepared to strike if LTD does not reconsider the Feb. 1 final contract implementation and start taking union demands seriously.
“If we can’t get this resolved, (the drivers) are ready and willing to strike,” Hunt said. LTD needs to understand the consequences of its
actions, Hunt said, and if things aren’t resolved, “they’re going to see one, there’s going to be a strike.”
One of the union’s many concerns with the LTD management is its use of a large amount of funds for expensive capital projects that unions representatives say do not benefit the community the way preserving bus service and taking care of drivers do.
“I think the public should be outraged by what’s going on,” Hunt said, adding that union members don’t understand “how you can spend money on one side and claim poverty on another side.”
Much of the money being spent on capital projects comes through grant funds, which can only be used for designated projects, but Hunt said LTD has a history of moving money that could be made public should an outside expert be allowed to review the district’s funding levels.
“We feel this group will be able to show that even with (capital funds), there is money out there to support the 6 percent increase,” Hunt said.
The 6 percent increase refers to the wage and benefits increases LTD has given the union in the last two contract offers. With this contract offer, LTD has said it wants to keep the increase around 4 percent, but Vobora said recent negotiations have pushed the figure up closer to 5 percent.
“We think we’ve addressed the employees that we’ve heard and made changes,” Vobora said. “The 4 percent comes from a kind of long-term perspective of trying to try to control all personnel expenses at a rate that is equal to what your main revenue source is.”
Vobora said changes should be expected to the final contract offer and added that certain aspects of the offer could be remedied retroactively if necessary.
The Feb. 25 negotiation session will be the first since LTD implemented its final contract offer on Feb. 1.

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