PORT ANGELES — Paratransit riders in Clallam County may not notice because the special-needs buses are running normally, but contract negotiations between Paratransit Services and a Seattle union have stalled, and a federal mediator has been requested.
Clallam County’s paratransit employees voted 25-0 on Jan. 4 to authorize a strike after a three-year contract with the Bremerton-based nonprofit had expired.
An offer from Paratransit Services on a new three-year contract was rejected by the union Tuesday at the end of the third round of negotiations.
“I’ve asked for a federal mediator to come in to mediate the dispute prior to a strike,” Paul Bachtel, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, said Friday.
“I spoke to the mediator yesterday, got some dates from the employer and we’re trying to set up something.”
Earn $12.80 an hour
The sides have tentatively agreed to meet in Port Angeles on Feb. 17 for a fourth round of talks.
“If that doesn’t work, then I don’t think they’d have any other choice but to strike,” Bachtel said.
If the drivers were to strike, Paratransit Services would still serve the elderly and disabled riders in Clallam County, as it has since 1988, according to Randy Grove, Paratransit Services operations and human resources director.
But he declined to provide details about the plan.
“The service would continue to run,” Grove said.
“We want to ensure the citizens that we are committed to continue to provide service. We’re committed to our employees and customers and will continue to ensure service.”
The average pay for a paratransit bus driver in Clallam County is about $12.80 per hour, Grove said.
Hope for resolution
Grove said it’s common for contract negotiations to last for five or more rounds.
The three-year contract that expired on Jan. 1 took five rounds of talks to resolve.
“We are very hopeful and certainly making every effort to find something that works for all parties,” Grove said.
Paratransit Services operates under a contract with Clallam Transit.
It also operates in King County, the Longview area and portions of Oregon and California.
Local 587 represents bus drivers in Clallam, Jefferson and King counties.
20 drivers
The vote to strike affects only Clallam County, Bachtel has said.
The union represents 20 drivers and eight dispatchers and customer service representatives in Clallam County.
“At this point, the union has rejected what we believe to be a very reasonable package that will continue to offer competitive wages and benefits for our employees,” Grove said on Thursday.
Since the negotiations are ongoing, specific details about the offers were not provided.
Bachtel has said the union is “simply asking” to continue pay raises settled in previous contracts.
Grove counters the union’s demands would raise wage and labor costs by 59 percent and increase costs by $1.7 million.
Given the nature of the economy, Grove said those demands are “what we consider not reasonable.”
The union’s last strike occurred about 30 years ago during a dispute with King County Metro.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
