Metro’s Board today approved a four-year deal with its train and bus operators, mechanics and other employees belonging to its largest labor union.

 

            The agreement, which ends in 2008, holds a six-percent wage increase over the next two years, changes in health care costs and employment incentives.

 

            “It’s a fair and balanced agreement that’s also fiscally responsible,” said Board Chair Gladys Mack. “We worked in partnership with the union over the last several months to reach an agreement without the disruption of service that was seen last year in New York and Philadelphia.”

 

            The nearly 7,000 operation, maintenance, and administrative workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 will have the same health benefits but pay higher premiums. Metro believes offering employees the option to buy cheaper generic prescription drugs will cut the agency’s health care costs. Employees also can get up a $500 credit toward their health care expenses if the agency has a $10.2 million surplus and Metro has a customer satisfaction survey score that reaches 87 percent.

 

            "We also believe the agency can cut overtime costs by hiring retired train operators for part-time work and more trainers in an effort to fill vacancies faster," said Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini. "We’ll also offer extra pay incentives to retain highly skilled workers."

 

            New guidelines will also limit job transfers within Metro. Managers say it’s an effort to stabilize the workforce and cut down on lost training costs from bus and train operators or station managers leaving a position within two and a half years after transferring.

           

            A majority of the union’s rank and file, who represent 70 percent of the work force, approved the deal last month.

 

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