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LISBON -- The 54 people employed by Community Action Rural Transit system have a new four-year contract.
Community Action Agency CEO Tom Andrews confirmed a new agreement was approved May 25 following negotiations with the United Steelworkers, the union representing the drivers, mechanic, dispatchers and office staff of CARTS.
"We really worked hard to come up with a contract that was a benefit to employees and good for the agency," he said.
The contract, which is retroactive to May 1, includes pay raises and some additional benefits, but Andrews declined to provide details, saying the parties agreed to confidentiality. Even though the CAA's annual budget is funded almost entirely with federal and state tax dollars, it is not a government agency and is therefore exempt from public records laws.
He did say one of the issues addressed during negotiations was that of employees calling off, and CARTS will now have some flexibility under the contract when addressing the problem.
CARTS is Columbiana County's public transportation system, providing an average of about 400 trips per day with its fleet of vans and mini-buses. CARTS is funded primarily by state and federal grants, with it fares and outside contracts generating additional revenue. More than 70 percent of riders are elderly or disabled.
In 2013, CARTS employees went on strike for 10 day before agreeing to a new four-year contract. Andrews, who was not employed by the CAA then, said negotiations went well and both sides entered into talks with a positive attitude. "We can't say enough about the bargaining unit," he said.
In other CAA news, the board of directors granted Andrews a 5 percent pay raise last month, also retroactive to May 1, which was his one-year hiring anniversary. Andrews declined to say how much he was being paid.