After a month of deliberation between the bus drivers union and First Transit, the CrimsonRide’s operator, an agreement was reached between the two regarding wages.
The union voted 23-1 in support of the new contract, which not only guarantees better wages, also gives the union assurances that its members will not be threatened by outside work. The vote was preceded by nearly nine hours of negotiations between representatives of both ATU and First Transit earlier that morning.
Ken Kirk, vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union, said that while the new contract was less than satisfying, the union would take what it could get.
“It’s something we don’t like, but we can live with it,” Kirk said. “The objective is not to seek total happiness, but to fashion the best agreement you can.”
In addition, Kirk said he admires the way the union stood in the midst of adversity for the sake of better wages.
“They put up a hell of a fight,” Kirk said. “They got the attention of First Transit.”
Kirk said another part of the contract stated that the union could not go on strike for three years. The current contract will expire in 2013.
Bonnie Bastian, a spokeswoman for First Transit, said First Transit is happy that the issue has been resolved.
“We are proud of the service our University of Alabama’s CrimsonRide drivers provide to the students and community and are pleased to have reached an agreement with them,” Bastian said.
Bastian added that although specific details of the contract can’t be disclosed at this time, what could be said is that the contract is “a fair and equitable contract, especially considering today’s economic conditions.”
Cathy Andreen, spokeswoman for the University, said that the University’s primary concern has been students and faculty.
“Our first concern is that our students, faculty and staff have a dependable transit system that they can rely on,” Andreen said.
Andreen said the University was informed of the agreement Sunday and sent out an e-mail notifying the UA community that they could expect normal CrimsonRide service to resume.
Students relieved
Many students seemed to be relieved and thankful that the conflict was resolved.
Tim Gibson, a sophomore majoring in business law, said he is relieved that the two parties have reached an agreement.
“I’m feeling good about the fact that it’s all over because I won’t have to walk anymore,” Gibson said.
Another UA student said she was pleased service would return to normal so she could be in class on time.
“I usually ride the bus every day because I park at Coleman Coliseum, and all of my classes are at Bidgood. I was late to class a lot last week. I’m glad that they have reached a compromise, but I don’t think the strike should have happened at all,” said Kate Lester, a sophomore majoring in business management.
Daniel Nelson, a senior majoring in computer science, said he can see both sides of the strike, and he is pleased that the bus drivers have benefited from their negotiations with First Transit.
“It was a bit of a pain for students who park on the perimeter and were trying to make it to class on time when there weren’t enough buses,” Nelson said. “At the same time, we are living in a bad time economically, so if people are trying to fight for better wages, then I support them. I’m just glad it didn’t last too long.”
