The MARTA board of directors approved a new labor agreement that’s set to give workers a series of raises over the next three years.
Under the deal negotiated with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732, which represents 63% of MARTA employees, workers will see a 10% raise in the first year, with a 3% boost in pay in each of the following two years.
New benefits in the contract include paid parental leave and aid to pay for education costs. It also includes extending longevity bonuses to those who have worked for MARTA for more than 15 years and increases already-existing premiums for 20-year veterans.
The union approved the contract last month, while the MARTA board approved it Thursday.
Board Chair Thomas Worthy said in a statement that the contract represents “a strong compensation package for represented employees.”
Meanwhile, in a statement last month announcing the deal, Shareka Cook-Thomas, the union’s recording secretary, said more work will need to be done in future negotiations. “Whereas we truly understand the many concerns of our members, know that they do not go unheard,” Cook-Thomas said, “and we will continue to fight for equitable wages.”
The agreement comes after over a year of negotiations between MARTA and the union, and after the previous contract expired at the end of last year.
