After members of Teamsters Union Local 533 voted almost unanimously to reject RTC's proposed contract on Sunday, the regional bus system has decided to move forward and meet with the union's negotiators to come to a compromise that would sit well with both sides.

Mike Steele, general manager of RTC RIDE, said he was not surprised by the outcome of Teamsters' Sunday meeting.

"I'm certainly disappointed," he said. "But I look forward to meeting

with the union."

The original three-year contract between the two entities expired

Thursday. Some of the major issues regarding the new contract include rewriting work rules, reduction in the number of months employees are allowed for a leave of absence, and recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr., Day as a full holiday within the bus schedule.

"I understand our primary issues was our proposal to remove work rules from the contract," Steele said. "That's a concern to them."

Steele said the issues in consideration were necessary because of what has been happening with employees.

"We've had an increase in absentees and accidents and employee misconduct," Steele said. "The work rules really need to be modified to address those issues outside the bargaining table."

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day has not been recognized as a full holiday schedule and still runs on a full Monday schedule, he said, because there is still passenger demand that day.

"If we reduced it to Sunday levels, we'd be leaving many people without transportation," he said.

In addition to the major issues, pay and pension were also part of the contract.

"The union is still seeking a 32-percent increase and we offered a

9-percent increase over the same three-year period," Steele said.

"They proposed a 250-percent pension increase and we're proposing 9 percent, which I believe is very reasonable."

Steele said the current economic conditions have made adjustments necessary to keep the county's public transportation system afloat.

Union members have authorized a strike, if necessary, which Steele said could affect service.

"Service certainly would be affected, certainly, but we'd provide as much service as we could through the use of outside employees, through supervisors and other employees able to drive," he said. "We're trying to avoid a strike – no one wants a strike that I know of. We're working toward some kind of resolution."

Steele said he would prefer to have a "new outcome without any work stoppage."

Steele said economic conditions are impacting RTC RIDE’s operations.

“Right now we're struggling with a decline in sales tax, which is our major source of funding,” Steele said. “We’re facing a 7-percent decrease in cutting services, potentially by October, and potentially another 3.2-percent decrease, and if the economy doesn't change, we could be facing another 20 percent in services. It’s very uncertain and we’re reducing services with less hours the drivers would be operating on. It would likely not result in any layoffs.”

Steele said RTC would need to consult with their lead negotiator, who lives in Texas.

No date has been set yet for another meeting between RTC and the union, he said.