Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union 998, representing Milwaukee County Transit System drivers, voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike in a membership tally on July 9.
The vote comes as county officials grapple with a nearly $11 million projected deficit that caught Milwaukee County finance officials off guard. Two high-ranking officials in county transit have stepped down since the disclosure of the shortfall.
The July 9 union vote doesn’t guarantee a strike will occur, but it serves as a gauge of membership’s support for such a job action. The decision whether to strike rides on ongoing contract negotiations with MCTS.
“If we do a strike, we’re going to do a full-blown strike because we feel like we’ve been unfairly treated,” said Michael Brown, the union’s vice president. “Drivers are frustrated.”
Brown accused MCTS leaders of not taking contract negotiations seriously and making bus drivers work overtime to fill job vacancies.
“The company is going backwards instead of going forwards,” he said. “The strike is for what we’re not going to take anymore. We’re tired of the mismanagement that’s going on around here. It’s time for a change.”
In its corrective plan, MCTS said it plans to engage in collective labor bargaining to reach an agreement to manage labor costs.
County Board members received an email July 8 announcing that Interim President and CEO Julie Esch had resigned from MCTS. A spokesperson declined to explain Esch’s abrupt resignation, saying the agency could not comment on personnel matters.
Chief Administrative Officer Sandra Kellner will serve as interim president and CEO while the agency works to hire someone permanently.
Esch’s resignation came a week after that of Donna Brown-Martin, executive director of the county Department of Transportation since 2018. Brown-Martin stepped down after the operating deficit at the Milwaukee County Transit System caught other county officials off guard.
The county Department of Transportation oversees and manages MCTS, a quasi-governmental entity that operates the county’s public bus system.
Agency leaders must alert the other county officials, including the comptroller, when they’re aware of a net deficit of at least $100,000 or a $1 million overtime deficit. However, this didn’t happen, leaving county officials, including Comptroller Liz Sumner, surprised and prompting her to order an audit of the governance and oversight structure of MCTS.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MCTS drivers vote to authorize strike as bus system struggles with projected deficit
Reporting by Sophia Tiedge , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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