Dan Linhart—a bus driver with Sun Tran for 34 years—is happy to be back at work, and calls the end of the strike a good starting point for much-needed changes in the way the city of Tucson deals with transit services.
He hopes the 42-day-old strike that ended Wednesday night is good enough reason to know the importance of creating a dedicated funding source for transit, in order to take the burden off the general fund, and not make public transportation “compete” with other city services for money. Linhart, who’s been a member of the negotiating committee for nearly two decades, gave Tucson City Manager Michael Ortega a lot of credit for what was accomplished in the final deal between Professional Transit Management—the company contracted by the city to manage Sun Tran—and members of the Teamsters Local Union 104.
City Councilman Steve Kozachik made a similar remark in that he hopes the strike will serve as a “catalyst for a reexamination of how we fund and manage our transit operations,” he says in a statement to the media. “Too many of our constituents and too many budget decisions depend on how we address those issues for us to allow a simple return to the status quo. I look forward to joining my colleagues, city staff, our management team, the union and the community in taking time to address these significant issues in a measured and thoughtful manner.”
The final deal has been very hush-hush, with only a few details making their way out of the circle. In terms of finances, fuel savings (roughly $500,000 that were returned to the general fund during the fiscal year) and strike savings (strikers didn’t receive a salary from Sun Tran while they were picketing) were used in the negotiations, according to both the Teamsters and Sun Tran. Whatever the wages look like in this two-year contract, Teamsters negotiator Andy Marshall says the city budget was no reopened, and that no money was taken from any other department. The union worked with funds that were already there, he adds.
“The money could have been better, we are way behind where we should be statistically. Like everybody else, we want to get paid a living wage,” Linhart says. “Part of the problem is having a private transit company with public funding going through it. Where are the funds really going?”
About the secretive nature of the deal, Linhart says there is nothing “insidious” about it. “For decades, we haven’t really known the amount of money that is available to work with, it always put us at a disadvantage,” he says. “We have finally removed that barrier and that is huge.”
Another big step to Linhart was finally addressing the mold problem, as well as beginning to develop tactics for better security measures, especially on the more “dangerous” bus routes. He says Ortega was at the forefront of those talks.
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2015.
paid a living wage! $19 an hour at the top, who rides suntran makes that an hour?
A living wage, seriously. Do they not realize how many lost what little wages they had because drivers want more money? A living wage is minimum wage, that is why it is called minimum wage. Try another excuse because that one is not valid. I just hope I can keep my mouth shut when I get on the bus, I have plenty of choice words to throw about.
They actually make more than that if you add in what their benefits are .
Minimum wage is NOT a living wage Lawlessk.
Minimum wage is not a permanent wage. If you have stayed at minimum wage over 90 days, find a new job, because the employer sees no value in you. But the fault may lie with you. Are you worth more than minimum wage? Why or why not?
Anyone who says minimum wage is a living wage has a very selective, extremely naive view of what living on $7.25 [federal or $8.05 [Arizona] means. Sun Tran drivers and mechanics earned under the expired contract what in most US cities would be recognized as a sub-standard wage. Alas, here in Tucson we can with reason say they are ‘well paid’.
@Rat T
(or Rat t or rat T or rat t; I’m curious if there are at least 4 of you and each individual [or 2] identifies themselves by the way the handle is stylized. I have seen all 4 stylings under a plethora of comments.)
What makes you think that the average employer will give a worthy employee a raise above minimum wage after 90 days? The mindset of the average employer paying minimum wage is that of “I would pay you less if I could.” (Yes, I’m plagiarizing Chris Rock!)
The way business is conducted needs to be changed. When the minimum wage was established in the ’60s, it was the value of damn near $12/hour by modern standards. There was also a smaller economic gap between the upper brass and those lower on the corporate ladder, a larger group of stronger unions backing their members and a lot more job opportunities because of the fact that most items sold in the USA were actually manufactured in the USA.
This country is definitely lost. Somewhere along the way, the greed of those doing business out of their ivory towers just couldn’t be sated. Somehow the burden of that was placed on the backs of those who could afford it the least. There is a special place in hell for the people who support this selfish mindset.
People (I didn’t type “A person” because I am convinced there is more than one of you) such as yourselves should want things in the employment world to change, simply because when there is more equality in the workplace there will be less government intervention. There will be more financial independence, which of course equals less people needing assistance. Judging from comments which I have read from you in the past, I truly believe you could get behind that.
I found it encouraging to see the Sun Tran employees fight back the way they did. I understand that I am in the minority with this opinion, but the reason I feel this way is because it shows that there is still hope for the underdog. If we want things to change, we have got to fight for it. I wish there were more actions like this, I am convinced things would change for the better.
To my knowledge there is only one of me. Part of the problem is that I am posting while driving and don’t take the time to pull off the hiway and proof everything. My apologies.
I guess I just go back to my roots. I never looked for a minimum wage job. That wasn’t my goal. And I only worked for employers for 3-4 years. Once I was denied a pay raise, (when I knew that I deserved it), I quit and opened my own business.
What has happened to the American spirit? Why is it that all we hear are people sitting in dead end jobs demanding higher pay?
This country desperately needs new upstart businesses. Think of one and get started. There are a million opportunities out there. If we wait for legislation to balance out fairness, we have given the wrong people more power over our financial future.
Once you do it for yourself you will always cherish the opportunities this country offers us.
How can they say that no money was taken from anyone else to settle the strike. The city only has one place to get money; and that’s from the taxpayers.
Headline:
TUSD high-schoolers to resume Sun Tran use
Here is an idea. Why not have Suntran charge TUSD $20 a month for each student for an unlimited bus pass and shut down the yellow buses? We would eliminate lawsuits, traffic backup, additional carbon pollution and let TUSD spend the savings?
How about that Suntran?
Yes, a dedicated fund would be nice, however what is the source of the funds? We know of course the “fare box”. Two ways to build that source, increase fares and chase patrons away or build fare box revenue with more passengers and filling empty seats.
Great, we see empty buses pass us by all day every day. Humans are creatures of habit, teach people how to use the bus. That means expose people to the service and routes. How do I get from point A to point B?
Why do businesses have “grand open specials”? Would it be to expose themselves to customers. knowing those folks will return and build a loyal customer base? Start filling those empty seats.
Fare box revenues can’t do it alone, how else do we build that regional dedicated transit fund?
Who benefits from a solid transportation system? Seek revenue from those who benefit. Riders through the fare box and then? The total community benefits, businesses and professionals with clients and customers to their doors. The young, elderly and others unable to drive certainly benefit. Sales/Arizona Transaction Taxes, no, too regressive, don’t punish those same people again.
What about a progressive income tax? While a statewide income tax is a possibility with distribution to local transit projects. Politically unlikely. Another line on our property tax? Too dependent on
voters and the mess of property tax ins and outs. I know of no other state that have made such a mess of their Ad Valorem Taxes/Property Taxes/Mileage Taxes/Registration Fees as Arizona Legislators have done. Too many special favors and political financial repayments built into the tax codes.
Toll roads, no not another layer of government money collectors. A regional approach to fund a regional transit system. Get funds from others who benefit, if you have driven Tucson lately you know less cars on the roadways would be ideal. Would it be worth a surcharge on vehicle registrations in the region of $3-6-12 a year to move more people to public transportation?