Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 788 President and Business Agent Reginald Howard appeared on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and explained the status of contract negotiations.
The union’s jurisdiction covers Missouri and Illinois, and has more than 2,500 members.
Local 788 is in the midst of contract negotiations with the transit services. Unfortunately, negotiations got off to a bad start. At this point, members want to skip the negotiations and go straight to litigation, he said.
Howard said the morale of membership has improved since COVID first hit. For a two-month period, the services used rear bus loading and did not take any fares. Fortunately, they did not have any issues with PPE, as they had plenty of supplies to clean their buses.
He also noted that since COVID, there has been a worker shortage within the industry. Local 788 needs 110 operators and 42 mechanics.
Listen to the interview to learn more about these topics.