After months of contentious negotiations and a vote by Muni workers to authorize a strike if necessary, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Transport Workers of America Local 250A have reached a tentative contract deal. But union members still need to review and ratify the deal, which is far from certain for a union whose members have been some of the most militant city workers.
“These contract talks were intense but both sides acted professionally. Ultimately, we arrived at a contract compromise that will produce significant cost savings and will change how Muni is managed over the long term,” MTA negotiator Debra Johnson said in a public statement distributed by the agency about an hour ago.
Local 250A Secretary-Treasurer Walter Scott cautioned that members still haven’t reviewed the deal, which they will vote on in 10-12 days. But he told the Guardian, “I’m glad that we came to a tentative agreement and we don’t have to go to arbitration.”
Among the terms proposed for this three-year contract are a wage freeze, a redefinition of overtime and other structural changes, provisions for hiring part-time workers, and other changes that MTA officials say will save the agency at least $21.3 million over the contract term. This was the first contract negotiation since voters approved Prop. G in November, ending the union’s guarantees of some of the nation’s highest driver salaries, thus giving the city more leverage in the collective bargaining process.
But Muni workers have been frustrated with the pace of negotiations and what they felt was a demonization of Muni workers by officials and media outlets in the city, leading union members to authorize a strike despite the prohibition on such work stoppages in their contract and in the city charter. Union officials had argued that a strike might have been legally permissible after the current contract expires on July 1, but the City Attorney’s Office disagreed.
At a time when public employee pension reform and the city budget are some of the biggest topics at City Hall, most political observers say a shutdown of the Muni system would have been a nightmare for both commuters and the union. Now, we’re all left to wait and see whether members accept the proposed deal or whether they want to keep fighting.
UPDATE (3:17 pm): Local 250A has issued a public statement announcing the deal and expressing irritation with the MTA and its public relations consultant for announcing the terms of the deal. Union President Rafael Cabrera said, “Part of our agreement with SFMTA was not to discuss the terms and conditions with the public until our members have had a chance to review the TA. It’s very disappointing that SFMTA’s outside media consultant Charles Goodyear has already violated the terms of our agreement with a detailed and inaccurate press release earlier today.” The union also said a vote on the deal will take place on June 8.