IT ratifies labor deal with bus drivers. ’This has been a long, difficult process’
The Intercity Transit Authority ratified a new three-year collective bargaining agreement this week with Local 1765 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, finally bringing to a close a process that began late last year.
Those negotiations weren’t always cordial and members made a point to speak out during public meetings or picket outside IT headquarters at Pattison Street and Martin Way. Before the authority voted on the agreement, authority member Carolyn Cox reflected on the moment.
“I would just like to take chair’s privilege for a moment to say I don’t want to let this go unremarked just as a normal dry piece of business,” she said. “This has been a long, difficult process for everybody, and my heart kind of goes out to everybody, but I think we landed in a good place. I think we’ve got a fair contract, and I think we now need to pick up the pieces and move on together.”
The union represents more than 300 employees at IT, including bus drivers. The new contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025, and continues through the end of December 2027.
“It provides for a general wage increase, a signing bonus, a full year of family and wellness allowance paid up front, longevity pay, in addition to other negotiated benefits, such as increased deferred compensation plan contributions and additional paid leave,” said Heather Stafford-Smith, administrative services director for IT.
The general wage increase, previously reported by The Olympian, looks like this:
▪ Union members in the first year will receive a 7% general wage increase, plus a 3.3% market adjustment for customer service representatives only.
▪ In the second year, effective Jan. 1, 2026, they are set to receive a 3.75% general wage increase, which could be raised to 4%, depending on changes to the consumer price index (CPI) for the Olympia-Tumwater area over a certain period of time.
▪ In the third year, effective Jan. 1, 2027, they are set to receive a 3.5% general wage increase, which also could be as much as 4%, based on changes to the CPI for the area over a certain period of time.
A new bus driver would start at about $26 per hour, IT General Manager Emily Bergkamp previously told The Olympian.
Of the union members who voted, 196 said yes to the new contract, two voted against it and there was one contested vote because that person didn’t understand how you were supposed to vote, a union shop steward told the authority.
“Membership has approved it wholeheartedly,” he said.
