The union representing city bus drivers in Charlotte voted to approve a new contract with the Charlotte Area Transit System on Saturday, averting a possible strike that could have started in mid-February.
The vote was 20 to 1, according to a news release posted on the SMART Union's website. The new contract includes higher wages, double-time for holidays and an additional paid day off for the Juneteenth holiday, according to the release. The financial details of the contract were not immediately disclosed.
The new contract also provides for night differential pay and an increase in the pension cap, the release said, and there are changes to the bidding of work process that favor operators who may be unable to bid when the process starts. Wage increases are retroactive to July 1, 2022.
The vote comes after bus drivers rejected a previous contract in September that would have included a nearly 11% raise, but would also have reduced the number of days drivers can take off without a reason. Union members later voted to authorize a strike in January.
Bus drivers in Charlotte are not public employees, but instead work for a private, third-party company called RATP Dev that manages and operates the bus system on behalf of the city.
Representatives for the city of Charlotte and CATS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Previously, CATS bus operators almost went on strike in 2014 after contract negotiations failed, but a last-minute deal was reached just before the strike deadline.
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