With an overwhelming 90 percent vote in favor, Teamsters Local 104 members approved a three-year labor contract Saturday, avoiding a shutdown of the Sun Tran bus service, which will continue as scheduled.
Karla Schumann, the local’s secretary-treasurer, described the contract as “something that the members can be happy and proud of. I think Transdev, the Teamsters and the city worked very hard to achieve this.”
Transdev is the private operator of the bus system, as well as other elements of the local transit system.
“This is a great day for Tucson, Sun Tran, Teamsters Local 104 & especially for our bus riders,” Sun Tran general manager Ginger Stevens said in a post on Twitter.
While declining to go into details, Schumann said the contract includes “some wage increases that proved to be acceptable to membership.”
City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who advocated for what he described as a “me-too” clause, which would allow Sun Tran employees to enjoy raises given to city employees, said, “Everyone wins with this settlement.”
“Transit workers are effectively treated like city workers, and the three-year deal builds stability into the system. The riders are the real winners though,” he told the Star.
