Glimmer of hope in ending the Tucson bus strike ***edit Strike over ***

[Ptah]

Last edited Thu Sep 17, 2015, 01:10 AM - Edit history (1)

Glimmer of hope in ending the Tucson bus strike

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

The Teamsters Local 104 union and Sun Tran will meet for an all-day session on Tuesday to see if the two sides can come to an agreement to end the 33-day-old walkout.

Regardless of the outcome on Tuesday, the two sides have also scheduled another all-day meeting for Thursday.

Marathon sessions do not insure an agreement is imminent, but "the fact we're talking is a sign of hope," according to Andrew Marshall, spokesman for the Teamsters.

Marshall would not say how far apart the two sides still are, but conceded "we are closer than we were."

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/29976159/glimmer-of-hope-in-tucsons-bus-strike

[Ptah]

1. Here's a thorough article that explains the situation quite well, I think:

Subsidy express: Who gets a lift, and who does Sun Tran take for a ride?

The Sun Tran strike is essentially about the word "subsidy" and just how sympathetic the
community is to both the drivers and the riders.

Face it, Sun Tran is the city of Tucson's big welfare program that takes from the rich to help
out the poor.

Questions follow. Is the budget more untouchable than the riders are important? Does the city
value policy or service? Where should they draw the line with one for the benefit of the other?
Where are the community's sympathies?

A day after the Arizona Daily Star ran a Tony Davis piece about the community of Bowie seeing
its water disappear (making the journalism gods proud), the morning daily printed a front-page ad
for Professional Transit Management, leaving no doubt where it stood on the issue, as the wall
between editorial and hard news just melted away.

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/090815_bus_subsidy_op/subsidy-express-who-gets-lift-and-who-does-sun-tran-take-ride/

[Ptah]

2. Tucson bus strike ends after union vote

A 42-day Tucson bus strike ended Wednesday when drivers, mechanics and other members
of Teamsters Local 104 voted to accept a new contract.

The vote was 351-41, for an 89 percent approval, said Teamsters spokesman Andy Marshall.

Everyone gets a raise under the new contract, he said, but he wouldn't release contract details,
saying he didn't want to inflame opinions of people who are angry about the strike.

Professional Transit Management, the contracted operator of the city's Sun Tran bus system,
also would not give details about the contract.

http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-bus-strike-ends-after-union-vote/article_76d859c6-f070-547f-a0d0-fab269a3dcd4.html