Politics
Politics

MARTA Board approves new union contract

MARTA employees will get 3 percent annual rises and other pay hikes under a new labor agreement approved by the Board of Directors Thursday.
MARTA employees will get 3 percent annual rises and other pay hikes under a new labor agreement approved by the Board of Directors Thursday.
By
Feb 14, 2019

The MARTA Board of Directors Thursday approved a new labor agreement that will give workers 3 percent raises for the next three years.

The agreement also gives a 25-cents-an-hour longevity premium to all employees with 20 or more years of service. And it gives an immediate “parity pay adjustment” of 50 cents an hour to all bus and rail operators and $1 an hour for mechanics and other skilled technicians.

The agreement provides a $1,000 retro/ratification payment for full-time employees and $500 for part-timers because the agreement was ratified before March 1. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732 has already approved the agreement.

Some bus drivers called in sick recently, disrupting hundreds of bus routes over more than a week – apparently to express their unhappiness with the agreement. But 88 percent of union workers approved the contract.

About the Author

David Wickert writes about the state budget, finance and voting issues. Previously, he covered local government and politics in Gwinnett and Fulton counties. Before moving to Atlanta, he worked at newspapers in Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.

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