As of Friday, July 14, 2023, GCTD and Teamsters Local 186, which represents 17 supervisory employees in operations, maintenance and customer service, reached a tentative agreement.
Below is a timeline summary of these negotiations:
Key Dates/ Negotiations Timeline
- July 13 -14 - Negotiations were facilitated by a state-appointed mediator. On the evening of July 14th, a tentative agreement was reached and ratified by the members. Before the tentative agreement can be implemented, it will be presented to the transit agency's board of directors who will review and approve the final terms.
- July 10, 2023 - Both parties have agreed to another attempt at mediation.
- July 8 - 9, 2023 - Neither party moved.
- July 7, 2023 - GCTD submitted a revised offer with an increase to the cost of living adjustment.
- July 6, 2023 - Both parties met to exchange proposals.
- July 3, 2023 - Both parties return to the bargaining table, without a state mediator, to attempt to reach an agreement on the outstanding items.
- July 1, 2023 - Supervisory employees' strike begins.
- June 30, 2023 - Mediation ended, and the parties did not reach an agreement by the contract end date. Teamsters issued a notice that evening that they would not entertain a contract extension and would strike 12:01 AM July 1st. At the time the strike was declared, GCTD and Teamsters had been discussing economic matters for just a couple weeks. The General Manager issued the following statement.
- June 27 - 30, 2023 - Parties meet with a state assigned mediator in effort to reach common ground.
- June 23, 2023 - Discussions continue to make progress; however, parties agree to move to mediation on major areas of disagreement.
- June 20, 2023 - GCTD presents budget and financial overview, and continue discussions.
- June 14, 2023 - GCTD presents first counter. Teamsters request state mediation.
- June 12, 2023 - Teamsters present opening proposal.
- June 1, 2023 - Teamsters take preemptive Strike Authorization Vote (11 days prior to economic discussions).
- June 1, 2023 - Teamsters and GCTD agreed to dates June 12th, 14th, 27th, 28th, 29th.
- May 30, 2023 - GCTD and Teamsters exchanged emails to set dates for Economic Discussions.
- April/May 2023 - Meetings were held April 19th, May 1st, May 8th and May 9th where tentative agreements were made on Ground Rules and several Non-Economic items. Following these discussions, GCTD requested to schedule economic talks in June due to key staffing changes. Teamsters verbally agreed to this schedule.
- March 2023 - GCTD and Teamsters exchanged emails to set initial dates to meet.
- February 2023 - Teamsters sent GCTD an Opening Letter to begin negotiations on a new contract to replace the contract that was effective from January 2019-June 30, 2023
We Value Collaborative and Respectful Collective Bargaining.
GCTD values all our employees and their dedicated service, our passengers, and the community we serve. We are committed to reach an agreement that prioritizes the diverse needs of our passengers who are depending on us to connect them to important resources, while upholding our commitment to workplace standards that promote equity, accountability and financial responsibility. We remain committed to working with the Teamsters in a positive and collaborative environment, free of personal attacks, misinformation, and other disruptive tactics that impact our ability to serve our riders.
We Value the Importance of Fair and Equitable Wages, Career Advancement.
Our proposal will increase salaries to ensure they remain competitive with peers, as well as align with our budget constraints. Our proposal also includes increases in tool allowances, educational reimbursement, and equity adjustments to key positions to bring them more in line with market rate. As an example of GCTD’s long-standing commitment to employee development and advancement, most supervisors were promoted from within.
We Value Fiscal Responsibility.
GCTD must be a good steward of public funds, and this responsibility includes ensuring that the services provided to the public remain cost effective. The approved operating and capital budget proposed for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 is 37.1 Million, the majority of which will go to pay employee salaries, wages and benefits to maintain service operations. Over 90% of the budget funding comes from state and federal taxpayer subsidies, with less than 10% of operating costs covered by passenger fares.
The FY 24 operating budget uses GCTD’s last remaining federal COVID relief funding that has helped avoid service cuts and fare increases associated with pandemic-induced revenue and ridership losses since 2020. This reality means that GCTD may face structural deficits starting in FY 25. Unlike many other counties, Ventura County does not have a local source of transportation funding. Without additional funding for everyday operating expenses, GCTD will likely have to make difficult decisions in the future to fill in the budget gap, which may include consideration of service cuts, workforce cuts, and a fare increase. GCTD is currently in the process of developing plans to face this new reality, including aggressively pursuing alternative sources of grant funding, with the goal of preserving as much service as possible, to avoid further disruption to the public.