Union threatens Super Bowl transit strike

Phoenix bus drivers and airport transit workers will strike during the Super Bowl if the companies that provide the services don't settle a dispute with the union over a new contract, a union official said Friday.

The city should be prepared for a strike by employees of Transdev and First Transit, Inc., said Michael Cornelius, lead negotiator for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433, in an email.

The union represents more than 300 First Transit bus drivers, fuelers and cleaners in Phoenix who staff some of the city's busiest routes. It also represents Transdev drivers of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport rental car center shuttles, along with airport ambassadors.

The city contracts with the companies to provide the services.

The strike threat comes after First Transit and union leaders ended three days of negotiation with a federal mediator on Thursday without resolution. On Dec. 30, 96 percent of employees represented by the union voted to reject a best-and-final contract offer from the company.

Transdev airport workers went on a brief strike in April over contract negotiations, but travelers did not see a visible impact, a spokeswoman with the City of Phoenix Aviation Department said in an email.

Officials at Sky Harbor are reminding the public that the contract between Phoenix and its transit companies requires a high level of service at all times, even during a strike.

For the First Transit contract, mediation will resume Jan. 26 — less than a week before the Super Bowl is played in Glendale. A strike could affect 14 bus routes in Phoenix, including five that are also Glendale bus lines operated through a Phoenix contract.

The Phoenix Public Transit Department is monitoring the situation and working with First Transit to prepare, spokesman Matthew Heil said.

"We are definitely aware it's a possible issue," he said.

The union must give a 72-hour strike notice before service disruptions, Heil said.

Union leaders said that the union has already provided the strike notice.

First Transit is required to keep its service at 60 percent of normal during a strike under its contract with the city.

"We're working to make sure they get up to speed on that," Heil said.

Bus service is still running normally. The department does not foresee immediate changes in service, Heil said.

Light rail service and bus routes in other parts of the Valley are not included in the negotiations and would not be affected by a strike.

Valley Metro is planning extra service around the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl and related downtown events, spokeswoman Susan Tierney said. Special express routes and extended light rail hours would not be affected by the negotiations, she said.

But at least one Phoenix-contracted route slated for extended service could be, Heil said.

The contract dispute for First Transit workers involves the cost of medical coverage and a difference in benefits for First Transit workers in Phoenix and the East Valley, Cornelius said.

Cornelius said in an email that union leaders left discussions Thursday evening "terribly disappointed in (First Transit's) comments that they are not interested in the needs of the drivers and are trying to protect their profit."

First Transit said in a statement that the company continues to negotiate in good faith.

Union President Bob Bean said after last week's vote that many of the issues under discussion were settled for First Transit's employees in the East Valley during a 2013 bus strike. That four-day strike left tens of thousands of residents without bus service.

Now, employees on the Phoenix routes want the same healthcare benefits, sick time and vacation days as those workers, union leaders said. Workers also oppose a proposal for a longer work day of 13 hours and mandatory training that the union said is during employees' off time.

Negotiations between union leaders and First Transit have been ongoing since the end of June, when the contract expired.

The union said on its Facebook page early Friday that Bean is asking the union's international president to sanction a strike, but that organizers "have committed to keep working to avoid a strike if at all possible."

Transdev representatives could not be reached for comment. The company was formerly known as Veolia.

Potentially affected bus routes

3: Van Buren Street

13: Buckeye Road

17: McDowell Road

29: Thomas Road

41: Indian School Road

43: 43rd Avenue (also affects Glendale)

51: 51st Avenue (also affects Glendale)

59: 59th Avenue (also affects Glendale)

67: 67th Avenue (also affects Glendale)

75: 75th Avenue

83: 83rd Avenue

19C: Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator

GAL: Grand Avenue Limited (also affects Glendale)

MARY: Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator

Source: Phoenix Public Transit Department and Valley Metro