DALLAS - It's back to the bargain table for Greyhound Lines and the union representing its drivers and mechanics.
Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union who drive and repair Greyhound coaches have overwhelmingly rejected a new labor agreement that called for wage increases totaling 9 percent during the 44-month life of the proposed contract.
The contract would have replaced the current five-year agreement that expires at the end of January.
A total of 2,149 Greyhound employees participated in the contract balloting, with 813, or nearly 38 percent, voting in favor of the agreement, while 1,336, or 62 percent, voted against. Nearly 20 percent of the votes were cast over the Internet. There were 3,647 eligible voters.
The tentative contract was negotiated during 30 days of what Local 1700 of the ATU said was intense bargaining in Tucson, Ariz., ending in late March. Voting took place during April and May.
The union executive board had recommended ratification of the deal, saying it saved health benefits and represented as much as the company could afford to shell out. In fact, Mike Jin, a labor economist for the union, said the agreement was "the best deal the union could currently negotiate."
In a statement released to Bus & Motorcoach News, Greyhound spokeswoman Kim Plaskett said the company "entered into negotiations a year early because dramatic cost increases in health care over the last few years put the health and welfare benefit plan in crisis.
"The company and union worked hard to reach an agreement. We are disappointed that this tentative agreement was not ratified. However, we will continue to work with the union as in the past."
The union estimated the proposed contract would cost Greyhound a total of $53 million over the life of the agreement. At the beginning of negotiations, Greyhound offered $39 million in wage and benefit increases.
Among the contract highlights:
-- Wage increases of 4 percent in August 2003, 2 percent in January 2005 and 3 percent in April 2006.
-- A 67-33 percent split on premiums for health benefits, with Greyhound paying the higher percentage.
-- $150 yearly tool allowance for mechanics.
Currently, Greyhound drivers with five or more years experience operating on scheduled routes are paid $19.85 hourly. A driver with more than a year of service but less than two years earns 90 percent of the experienced rate. Charter pay is 75 percent of the schedule rate.
Pay for mechanics varies by location. An experienced Greyhound mechanic in Syracuse, N.Y., is paid $15.43 hourly, while a company mechanic 2,768 miles away in Seattle earns $22.14 an hour. Those are the two extremes; everyone else is somewhere in between.
The current Greyhound-ATU agreement went into effect Oct. 1, 1998, and expires Jan. 31, 2004.