Following months of delay, union workers for the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company have voted to accept the bus system\u2019s original contract offer – a move one union rep attributed to \u201csettling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last December, GLTC employees rejected an offer that would put the drivers of the new Liberty University routes on cleaning crews in the summer months. Those drivers, about a dozen in all, had hoped to earn year-round employment behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
GLTC\u2019s last union contract expired Aug. 31. The vote to approve the new terms took place Feb. 12, negotiators on both sides confirmed Thursday.<\/p>\n
While workers weren\u2019t necessarily \u201call that happy\u201d with the deal, they settled for what was offered.<\/p>\n
Under the new contract, employees will get an 11 percent raise spread out over the next three years. The co-pays and deductibles on their health insurance will also be raised to help offset that expense. LU drivers will have a choice of taking unpaid furlough when the university is not in session or taking a cleaning position.<\/p>\n
The terms of the new contract extend into August 2011. GLTC has nearly 70 bus drivers and maintenance workers. Not all of those employees are dues-paying union members, but all are included under the new contract.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Following months of delay, union workers for the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company have voted to accept the bus system\u2019s original contract offer – a move…<\/p>\n