The Utah Transit Authority's contract with 768 drivers and mechanics expired at midnight Tuesday, but negotiations were continuing and buses were rolling Wednesday.
No interruptions in normal bus service are expected regardless of whether a collective bargaining agreement is reached Wednesday, according to a joint statement issued by the UTA and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 382.Federal mediator Tom Curdie is assisting in the negotiations, which began in mid-November. UTA spokesman Bill Barnes said discussions continued through the early morning hours Wednesday and then broke off so the negotiators could get some sleep.
The two sides have agreed not to publicly comment on the issues in dispute, but management personnel practices as well as the wage and benefits package are believed to be the focus of the talks.
In August, a dozen former bus drivers accused the UTA of "union-busting" tactics and unfair labor practices involving disciplinary actions against union members. The former employees said UTA was systematically replacing senior workers with cheaper labor, and they cited a high turnover rate as evidence of widespread employee dissatisfaction.
They took their complaints to Salt Lake County commissioners, who relayed them to the UTA board of directors on Aug. 28. The commissioners said there were too many complaints to ignore, despite assurances from UTA board members that the company is not anti-union. Commissioner Randy Horiuchi commented at the August meeting that the high union membership at UTA - 60 percent - is itself an indication of dissatisfaction and a fear of management.
UTA officials responded that the company's turnover rate has hovered around 12 percent during the past three years, compared with an average of 16 percent for other companies in the West. And they said only three of their 300 formal disciplinary actions in 1990 reached the arbitration stage and that all three were upheld.
Barnes said assertions aired by a local radio talk show that UTA was planning a lock-out against employees were not true. And he also dismissed rumors of a wildcat strike by employees.
"Service is continuing, and neither side is planning any action against the other," Barnes said.