Revisiting the 2013 Contract Vote by ATU Local 1415

Remember that day ATU Local 1415 voted on Greyhound's first contract offer in 2013? That offer was so bad that the membership, in spectacular fashion, voted the company's offer down by 99%. Hopes ran high after that vote. After all, this was a higher percentage than voted against Greyhound's first offer in the 2010 contract negotiations where 87% voted against acceptance.

With the 99% vote against acceptance in 2013 Greyhound must have thought they were going to be in for real fight. Leading up to the vote the 2010 contract negotiations had seen some of the biggest contract concessions and giveaways in the history of ATU Local 1415.

It appeared that the membership had reached the limit for what they were prepared to accept.

In the 2010 negotiations bus drivers gave up their 4% meal allowance which was calculated based on their annual gross earnings. In addition, all members agreed to an increase in their pension contributions from 4% of gross earnings to a maximum of 9% with no change in the pension payout formulae (pension contributions quickly rose to over 8% by the end of the 1st year). All members also gave up the right to receive a commuted value payout for their pensions if they were over age 50. Annual contractual rate increases were set at 4% in the first year. 0% in the 2nd, and 2% in the final year of the contract.

In 2013, after the initial offer was rejected by 99%, Greyhound came back with another offer which created a two tier pension system by freezing the defined benefit pension plan so that new hires became members of a newly created defined contribution pension plan. The offer contained other concessions notably on compensation for the use of rental equipment, and further entrenched a two-tier wage system with new drivers starting at a drastically reduced mileage rate and taking four years instead of only two to reach the top rate. The other very unpopular give away was the drivers' GCX allowance which amounted to a lot of money for some.

The membership held their noses and voted 57% in favour of the contract.