WASHINGTON - Greyhound Lines and Local 1700 of the Amalgamated Transit Union have reached a tentative agreement on a new multi-year contract.
The agreement was reached after nearly two months of on-again, off-again negotiations. It is the third agreement reached by the company and the union since they began bargaining talks last spring.
The two previous contract proposals were roundly rejected by Greyhound drivers and nearly 300 mechanics covered by the agreements. The current Greyhound-ATU contract expired Jan. 31.
Along with the latest agreement, the two sides also announced they have agreed on a contract extension letter that extends current employee benefits and protections until March 26, when voting on the latest contract proposal is expected to be completed.
The union's executive committee is recommending ratification of the new agreement. The committee had recommended approval of the first contract in May but had recommended against the second one in October.
Although terms of the latest deal were not immediately available, the proposed contract is thought to be similar to the proposal that was rejected last fall.
One source said the agreement would freeze wages for two years, with a 2 percent hourly increase in March 2006.
The cost-split on premiums for health benefits, a major sticking point, reportedly is set at 64 percent company and 36 per cent employees in the latest agreement. Employees not using the company health plan reportedly will be paid $500 annually.
The ratification vote on the proposed contract reportedly also will carry a strike vote.
Nearly 87 percent of the Greyhound drivers and mechanics who participated in the balloting last fall voted no. In May, the tentative contract was rejected by the 62-to-38 percent margin.
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 in Seattle earns $22.14 an hour. Mechanics at other locations are between those extremes.