The will is there for both sides of a prolonged contract dispute to return to the negotiating table and avoid the prospect of a strike against the Akron area’s transit authority, but coordinating schedules is the tricky part.
A Metro RTA spokesperson says the union representing employees rejected its invitation to return to bargaining. Transport Workers Union Local 1 says it was first to reach out after the Metro board accepted and the union rejected a fact finder’s recommendations for a new labor agreement.
In a June 19 email, Metro Public Relations Specialist Grace Doyle said Metro’s lead negotiator reached out to the union’s lead negotiator and offered to meet and resume negotiations on June 18 and June 23.
The union rejected Metro’s proposed dates “and has not proposed any alternative dates,” she wrote, but Metro “remains willing to meet at reasonable dates and times to resume good faith negotiations.”
Local 1 President Wayne Cole disagreed with Metro’s version of events and said the union made the first move.
“We requested dates,” he said. “The dates they gave us did not work for us, and then we haven’t heard anything back from them.” Cole said the union hasn’t proposed any alternative dates yet because “we’re still looking at what could be available.”
The union represents bus operators, vehicle service workers and clerical workers.
On June 18, the union said it scheduled a strike authorization vote for June 30.
If a majority of the union’s membership votes to strike, it will allow Local 1 leadership to walk out on Metro at a time of its choosing. The union must give Metro 10 days notice prior to a stoppage.
In 2025, riders took 5.6 million trips with Metro RTA. Summit County residents rely on Metro to get them back and forth to dialysis appointments, grocery stores, school and more.
On June 9, the union overwhelmingly rejected contract terms outlined in a report meant to bring an end to deadlocked contract negotiations with Metro. Metro’s board of trustees voted to accept the report.
In a June 9 statement, the Metro RTA board said that while the fact finder’s report “did not provide resolution on each proposal advanced” by the transit authority, “we believe that this report represents the conclusion of a fair process that acknowledges the complexities of the collective bargaining process.”
The nonbinding proposal was assembled by a neutral, state-appointed arbitrator tasked with presenting a new collective bargaining agreement based on Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board criteria.
Sticking points in negotiations include wages, insurance costs and the refusal by Metro to grant its majority-Black workforce the day off for Juneteenth, despite transit workers in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and elsewhere having the day off, the union said in its release.
Instead of retroactive raises sought for 2024 and 2025, the report suggests a one-time $3,500 payment.
The union called the recommendation “a gimmick” that doesn’t increase workers’ hourly wages and would be largely devoured by taxes.
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Metro RTA, employees’ union inch toward return to negotiating table
Reporting by Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
