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regularly come up a few hours short of a 40-hour workweek. By rule, they must make up the remaining hours, either by extending a shift or claiming some of the leftover time created by sick days or scheduling holes. “They couldn’t do away with split shifts, but they could reduce it,” said driver Sherry Siebenaler. “There needs to be fewer of them. I’m all over the place, every day. That’s what we’re screaming about. They really need to do something with the drivers’ schedules.” But Watterson said there is little his agency can do given the needs of its ridership at opposite ends of the day. “Those jobs are split-shift kind of jobs. That’s the reality,” Watterson said. “Having a split shift can be challenging. The people who come to us for jobs, that is the reality to expect what their work lives can be. If someone envisions that as problematic — and I respect that it might be for some people — it’s probably not the right job for them.” In recent years, CCTA has sought to increase the “spread time,” the number of hours between when a driver’s first shift begins and last shift ends. In negotiations, the union reluctantly agreed to expand the spread from 12.5 hours to 13.5 hours, but demanded in exchange that CCTA surrender the right to hire parttime drivers, which it views as a threat to the long-term stability of full-time jobs, according to the fact-finder’s report. CCTA wants to be able to hire up to seven part-timers. Drivers have other complaints. At the press conference, union officials said that management had shortened breaks for drivers — the only time they can use the bathroom during a shift. They also faulted CCTA for filing written reports about the tiniest infractions, such as being a couple of minutes late, and creating a hostile work environment. Watterson said none of those complaints were voiced in the bargaining session. He said he learned about them through union comments to the media. “It boils down to management style: ‘Our way or the highway; lots of people waiting for your job,’” Norris-Brown said. “Pushing drivers down instead of collaborating. CCTA doesn’t like the union. They would like to have all at-will
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The expansions have increased ridership by nearly 75 percent since 2000, to 2.7 million annual rides. The first public sign of trouble between the organization and the union, which represents 71 full-time drivers and one part-timer, came in 2010. It took three mediation sessions for the two sides to agree on a contract. That agreement expired in the summer, after which CCTA and its drivers participated in 10 bargaining sessions over four months. By all accounts, they didn’t come close to a deal. (Drivers are currently working under the terms of the old contract.) Each side then agreed to appoint a neutral factfinder, meeting with him shortly before Thanksgiving. In early January, the fact-finder recommended the terms of a contract, which CCTA used as the foundation of its offer to drivers. The union shot it down in a 53-4 vote in early February. A 15 hour-negotiating session several days later did not result in a new agreement. What are the issues? Surprisingly, pay and benefits aren’t among them. Starting drivers make around $42,000 a year. With overtime, which is often necessary, according to agency documents, annual pay can be more than $60,000. CCTA drivers are mostly frustrated by their workplace conditions and schedules — particularly split shifts. The expansion of commuter routes means work opportunities are clustered in the morning and evening, with a lengthy lull in between. To cope, CCTA, like many transit companies, asks drivers to work the morning commute, go home for several hours, then return for the evening commute. The expansion of those shifts has proved disruptive, according to union reps. “The split shifts are ridiculous,” said veteran driver Luhrs. “Those guys don’t have any life.” Drivers say split shifts are made worse by CCTA’s poor scheduling practices. Instead of letting drivers help craft the bus schedules, the company relies on a software program that dictates shifts that drivers say are inconsistent and inconvenient. For example, drivers complain that— even after working split shifts — they
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