CARTA drivers protest with sealed lips

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Unionized employees of CARTA walked out of a board meeting this morning, after their request to speak to the board was denied.

That follows recent complaints from bus drivers over required overtime, and a short staff.

A group of union drivers announced ahead of time that they would walk out in protest.

They say they want the board to hear their complaints against CARTA.

One protester said “Drivers are still being forced to work on their off days, and they are fatigued. And that is a safety issue when it comes to drivers sitting behind the wheel, when those passengers we are carrying, that’s cargo that cannot be replaced.”

The board chairman says those issues have been addressed in collective bargaining agreements with the drivers.

STEVE JETT: “We have a collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated with the union. It’s in place, it has specific procedures for dealing with complaints or concerns and we’ve just told the union that we’re going to go by the agreement that we reached mutually, and we’re not going to turn the board meetings into gripe sessions.”

As to the shortage of personnel, Chairman Jett says that new drivers will be “completing” their training soon and that should alleviate some of the required overtime. He says that there is no concern for passenger safety.

V.P. of ATU Bill Nye “Ridership is down over two hundred and nineteen thousand riders just this, as of this past January, and that could have a significant impact on our funding at the federal, state and local level.”

Steve Jett added “The ridership is not unsafe, I stand by that comment, completely. We have had a shortage of drivers, and that was one of the things brought up by the union, which was a legitimate concern. We’ve done, and as I mentioned in the board meeting, it is difficult for most businesses to find employees now, it’s a time of virtually full employment.”