Capital Area Transit System administrators and leaders of the bus system’s employee union returned to the bargaining table last week to resume contract talks and, in marked contrast to previous attempts, appeared to make headway in their negotiations.
Though local union president Naomi Guy says national union leaders have advised her not to make any statements about the contract negotiations, she is pleased by the tone of the talks and the progress the two sides made.
“Everything went perfectly well,” says Guy, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union’s Baton Rouge chapter. “We didn’t have any of the stuff we had last time. We feel good about it.”
In the months leading up to contract talks, union leaders and system employees began stepping up their criticism of CATS CEO Bob Mirabito, blaming him for the system’s aging fleet and accusing him of making them work in unsafe conditions. Tensions escalated in June, when union leaders reportedly walked out of a meeting with Mirabito, whom they accused of intimidation tactics.
More than one month later, however, the two sides are talking again and say they hope to come to an agreement when they next meet again in August.
“While there is consensus on some items, there is still a lot of work to be done to reach an agreement on a new contract,” Mirabito says. “We look forward to sitting down and continuing from where we left off last week.”
The CATS board meets today at 4:30 p.m. at BREC headquarters, 6201 Florida Blvd. While the union contract talks are not on the agenda, the board will take up extending a bus tire lease contract with Goodyear Tire & Rubber for another two years, among other issues.
Read a recent Business Report feature on Mirabito.
—Stephanie Riegel
