The Strike of Capital Metro

Capital Metro workers gave a strike from last Wednesday to Friday. After 18 months of negotiations, Capital Metro and its transit union reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract to end the work stoppage. This agreement includes a higher bonus payment ($1,200) than management had previously offered ($1,000), a compromise on health insurance (co-payments of $25 for doctor visits and annual deductibles), but also pay raises which is lower and slower than what union members rejected last month.

It is clear that the deal is less than what workers had hoped for from management. Given economic and political realities, it is not smart to call a strike at this time. The slumping economy, the failing gas prices, and a public distracted by presidential politics will give fewer sympathies to the strikers.

Before the strike, Austin City Councilmember and Capital Metro Board Member Mike Martinez had mediated a plan acceptable to the bus drivers. But his involvement was rebuffed by StarTran when general manager Terry Garcia Crews told the union in a letter, “I truly believe that the negotiation process should be kept between the negotiating committee members for ATU and StarTran while keeping Commissioner Clint Hart, Federal Mediator, involved in the process as well.” According to reports, ultimately Martinez, Councilmember Lee Leffingwell and State Senator Kirk Watson had a hand in getting both sides to come to an agreement. Thank God neither Martinez nor Watson swallowed the company line, and with the indispensable help of these “outsiders”, a deal got done.

The dispute was about how much profit the company wanted to keep versus what the employees feel was fair. It is hard to have an opinion on who was right or who was wrong during the strike. Although the transit strike may hurt many riders, I still have sympathy for those competent and professional drivers who are always putting passengers’ safety first. The ones we should blame are the rest of the Capital Metro Board, which distinguished itself largely by hiding under the table. The vacuum of their leadership is harmful to the community and harmful to the work force. it is probably too much to wish that one fine day Texas would come to its senses and support collective bargaining at state agencies, since the current law forbidding it is nothing more than a take-it-or-leave-it management bludgeon. That law enabled the union-busting foot-dragging by Cap Metro over the last 18 months, saving it wage money while the workers waited for a resolution.