Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Portland

Even Portland’s Model Transit System Has Labor Disputes

1:01 PM EDT on October 22, 2010

Rail~volution's participants were treated to a whole series of workshops titled "Portland: How Did We Do It?" on the last day of the four-day conference. The sessions touted Portland's excellence on everything from regional partnerships to bike innovations to Metro. But outside the conference, just as TriMet's General Manager took the stage, dozens of picketing transit union members reminded us that all is not rosy in Portland transit-land.

TriMet employees have been working without a contract for nearly a year. ##http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/trimet_employees_protest_at_ra.html##The Oregonian##

Contract negotiations between TriMet and the union are stalled, nearly a year after the previous contract expired. President Jonathan Hunt said that binding arbitration with TriMet has yielded nothing but impasses and retaliation. The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint last month with the state Employment Relations Board, charging that TriMet was bargaining in bad faith.

Now that TriMet is telling workers and retirees they'll have to pay their own health insurance, Hunt wants to take action. He said his members have already made big sacrifices to keep the health care and it shouldn't be taken away. "We took wage freezes; we took rollbacks," he said.

But the union won’t go on strike, Hunt said, because the consequences for riders would be too severe. “When we walk, everybody walks.” (In any case, it's against Oregon law for them to strike.)

This was new to me: Hunt said the transit sector faces higher rates of disability than any other industry. "People don't recognize," he said, "that a transit operator in their normal daily operation is equivalent to a firefighter or a police officer in their 911 mode. There's a lot of stress."

All the more reason, he added, for TriMet to negotiate in good faith. "[The workers] lived up to their agreement," he said. "Now TriMet needs to do the same."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Are Tired Out

Whether it's from degradation or the dust resulting from wear and tear, it's becoming increasingly clear that tire and brake emissions are harmful, perhaps even exceeding tailpipe emissions.

September 22, 2023

Study: What Road Diets Mean For Older Drivers

"After a road diet, all motorists seem to drive at a rate that feels comfortable to a mildly-impaired older adult."

September 22, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Local Culture and Development

We chat with Tim Sprague from Phoenix about supporting local culture through development projects and the importance of sustainable development and transportation.

September 21, 2023

How and Why to Start a Walking School Bus

Any caregiver for a kid in institutionalized education is familiar with the challenge of getting them where they’re going safely, on time, every single day, well before your own day’s assignments come into play. Here's how a walking school bus could help.

September 21, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines Have a New Pattern

Working from home may have killed the commute, but people are taking more frequent, shorter trips instead. Whether this adds up to less or more driving overall depends on the city.

September 21, 2023
See all posts