CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – After months of labor, Charlottesville Area Transit has reached a tentative settlement with the town in its collective bargaining negotiations.
The greatest factor CAT staff wished from Charlottesville was larger pay, they usually obtained it. Included for the primary time is a pay development, awarding staff for his or her seniority.
“This definitely means that I won’t be just breaking even and paying the bills and everything. Now I can maybe get a little bit ahead,” driver Matthew Ray mentioned.
Ray says he has been a CAT driver for 10 years. Under this contract, his $23 an hour goes to $31.
“That is life-altering money,” he mentioned.
The new pay scale exhibits a 2% increase for all staff beginning January 1, 2025, adopted by continuous wage boosts.
“A lot of my co-workers don’t have to work that second job anymore. This job will do it all for them,” Ray mentioned.
In 2026, CAT staff will solely must work six years to achieve high pay.
“We’re going to start to attract these people back here to Charlottesville to work,” Ray mentioned.
Another key a part of the contract is extending the profit stipend for metropolis college bus drivers, who’re additionally part of CAT.
“For many years, our school bus has been kind of a little brother of the transit. That’s no longer the case here,” Ray mentioned.
CAT staff unionized and began negotiations with the town again in October 2023. Ray says this course of and now contract is consultant of a metropolis that values its staff.
City Manager Sam Sanders mentioned in an announcement to 29News, “The city values the good faith displayed through these negotiations.”
The subsequent step is for Sanders to assessment the union’s ratification and work within the contract with the following fiscal yr funds.
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