Akron Metro Workers OK New Contract

Union workers at Akron Metro RTA have accepted a new contract offer that will now be voted on by the agency’s board of directors on Wednesday.

Members of the Transport Workers Union of America Local 1 voted 186 to 25 to accept the contract, which will replace a pact that expired on July 31, 2020.

If approved by the Metro board the contract will be retroactive to June 1, 2021, and run through May 31, 2024.

The union represents bus drivers, vehicle maintenance workers and customer service employees. Those make up 74 percent of Metro employees.

Approval by the Metro board is likely given the statements made by the agency’s CEO Dawn Distler who described the new contract as “fair and equitable to the organization, TWU membership, and, most importantly, is a contract that would strongly benefit our passengers.”

Union officials said the contract makes no changes to health insurance coverage, but they expressed some dissatisfaction about wages.

Willie Brown, the director of the international union’s transit division, said about wages, “when it comes to contracts, it’s give and take.”

Tags: Akron Metro, Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority, Akron Metro RTA, Ohio public transit, Public transit, Public transportation