Whether or not union employees can legally strike against the
Regional Transportation District rests with a panel of Colorado
Department of Labor and Employment officials.
The Amalgamated Transit Union 1001 wants a ruling forbidding the
strike because of its impact on public health and safety. If the
panel denies the union the right to strike then, if negotiations
stall, the issue will be decided in binding arbitration.
However, RTD maintains the strike should be allowed because
while it would cause inconveniences, it would not have significant
impact on public health and safety. They also maintain that
mandating arbitration removed the incentive to take part in
meaningful contract negotiations and would turn the decision over
to a third party, who may or may not be from the area or even from
the state.
The sides are in negotiations, seeking to reach agreement on the
contract for about 1,900 bus drivers, light rail operators and
mechanics that expires Feb. 28. Reportedly, the sides are seeking
to reach agreement in several areas, including the fact the union
is asking for what was called, “a modest raise” while RTD battles a
multimillion dollar budget deficit and seeks a wage freeze.
At a Feb. 19 hearing, both sides called witnesses and about a
dozen people testified on the issue. About 80 people crowded the
hearing room for the meeting. About a third of them were from the
disabled community, on hand to tell the panel that a strike would
have a major impact on their lives.
Bill Petropalos, one of the labor department officials presiding
at the hearing, said there is no timetable for a decision but
everyone recognized the seriousness of the issue.
He said the department has no guidelines for the procedure
because this is the first time the right-to-strike issue
presentations have been done orally. He said, in the past, the
sides have presented their positions in written briefs.
“This is new for us,” Petropalos said. “But we know how
important this is and our goal is to evaluate the information and
hand down a decision as quickly as possible.”
