LOUISVILLE, Ky. — TARC employees launched their campaign for a fair contract and safe workplace Thursday.
The group claims they're understaffed, training isn't adequate and management does not treat them well. They also want new health and safety standards to be met.
They even had a list of signatures of people who have joined their efforts.
TARC spokesperson Jenny Recktenwald said they are negotiating in good faith and responded to every proposal the Union has made. She said because TARC’s major source of revenue is from the occupational license tax, their revenues are fixed.
The maximum a Coach Operator can make is $26.13 an hour, and the maximum a Mechanic can make is $26.82 per hour she said. The Union’s current wage proposal over a three-year contract puts the maximum wage as the new minimum:
- Coach Operators: 51.5% ($26.13 to $39.60)
- Radio Operators/Clerks: 87.6% ($26.38 to $49.50)
- Mechanic Group 1: 86.4% ($26.82 to $50.00)
- Mechanic Group 2: 76% ($25.56 to $45.00)
This increase would result in TARC running out of money by 2024 Recktenwald said.
Union President Lillian Brents said recently not only was a passenger with a gun able to make it onto two TARC buses in one day, but said he shot at one of the buses, traumatizing the driver.
"They did not offer her assistance, did not ask her how she was doing. They even pushed her to do paperwork,” Brents said. “But how would you feel if a gun was pulled on you? Are you of sound mind, of able body, to fill out paperwork?"
Recktenwald said a safety investigation found while a firearm was brandished, no shots were fired near a TARC bus. She added Kentucky has no laws prohibiting or regulating open carry in public, therefore TARC cannot prevent a passenger from boarding with a firearm.
Recktenwald also said Louisville Metro Police confirmed no shots were fired.
Brents went on to say the driver claims she never heard from any other management, like the executive director, to see how she was doing.
"We report to work every single day. we don't expect to encounter situations like this. We are not trained to interact with a disruptive passenger with a gun," Brents said.
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