As bargaining stalls, CATA announces unilateral changes, including base raises, curbed overtime
Sarah Lehr
The Capital Area Transportation Authority announced a series of unilateral changes Friday as contract negotiations with its employees' union continue to stall.
The changes include the elimination of retiree health care for new employees, amended policies intended to curb overtime and 3% base pay raises for drivers and mechanics, CATA management announced in a news release.
CATA has been bargaining with the Local 1039 of the Amalgamated Transit Union over a new contract for more than 17 months.
Negotiations began in fall 2019
The last contract expired Nov. 30, 2019, but CATA has been using short-term bridge agreements since then that match the terms of the old contract. The latest bridge agreement expired Thursday.
"CATA has decided to implement portions of its proposals, in hopes of moving negotiations forward," the transit authority announced in a news release.
CATA spokeswoman Lolo Robison said the agency can make the changes unilaterally "but we do really want to collectively bargain and come to an agreement to the extent possible."
More: 5 CATA bus drivers made more than $100K in 2016
Steve Soliz, president of ATU Local 1039, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
CATA workers rallied in Lansing Tuesday to demand a "fair and just contract."
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“We have been working without a contract for almost a year," Soliz said in a statement earlier this week. "They call us heroes on the frontlines, but we are treated like zeroes at the negotiating table.”
The statement added, "CATA is using right-wing anti-union laws and outdated financial claims to justify robbing frontline heroes, and we’re disgusted by it."
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CATA says changes intended to curb overtime, premium pay
Under CATA's old contract, employees had a standard work week of five days, with time and half earned for working more than eight hours a day or for working during the sixth day in a week. Employees got double time if they worked the seventh day.
Instead, CATA will pay employees time and half only if they work more than 40 hours in a seven-day work week, Robison said.
CATA will continue to require employees to use paid time off concurrently with time afforded under the federal Family Leave and Medical Act, Robison said.
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CATA says the policy cuts down on costs and avoids "unnecessary overtime," according to a fact-finder's report.
The union contended the requirement "punishes" people who took time off because they got sick or needed to care for someone else and then returned to find their vacation time exhausted, according to a fact-finder's report.
The Lansing State Journal has reported on multiple CATA bus drivers who've earned six-figures annually in recent years because of overtime policies.
From 2017: Former CATA finance director says department was 'a mess'
CATA cuts some attendance bonuses, caps retiree health care
CATA also says it's eliminated attendance bonuses for employees who miss two shifts a month but kept bonuses for employees with perfect attendance or who miss only one shift each month. The bonus was $50 for full-time employees who missed no more than two shifts a month. Full-time employees with monthly perfect attendance get $125 and those who miss only shift a month get $75. Employees with perfect attendance for the entire year get an additional $500.
Additionally, CATA says it's moving forward to eliminate employer-sponsored retiree health care for workers hired after Dec. 1, 2019.
The change will "protect the financial solvency of retiree health insurance for current retirees and eligible employees," CATA said in a news release.
"We hope that, with these changes in place, the parties can focus on achieving an overall agreement," CATA CEO Brad Funkhouser said in a statement.
CATA provides bus service in Lansing, East Lansing, Meridian Township, Delhi Township and Lansing Township.
Contact reporter Sarah Lehr at slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.