In a hard-won victory, IBEW 1245 members at Sacramento Regional Transit (SAC RT) overwhelming ratified a new 4-year agreement. The landslide ratification vote took place on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. The final tally was 176 “Yes”- 14 “No.” The 4-year agreement includes a General Wage Increase (GWI) of 4% (plus a 3% signing bonus), 4%, 4% and 4.5% + upping the contribution to 401a. The vote followed months of negotiations.
Seasoned IBEW 1245 Business Representative Sheila Lawton led the negotiations with her bargaining committee. Great progress was made until Sac RT management rejected the bargaining committee’s wage proposals. At issue: fairness and equity for the highly skilled and certified workforce.
The vast majority of IBEW 1245’s members — buses, LR vehicles, track and ground/facilities – fill positions that require thirty-six to forty-two months of training/apprenticeship program.
“These professional classifications require extensive training just to qualify for their jobs. And as the District moves to an electrified fleet and acquires brand new trains, additional training and certification will be necessary to manage advancements in the technology and application,” said IBEW 1245 Chief negotiator Sheila Lawton.
Sr. Assistant Business Manager Al Fortier added, “Given their level of training and skills, our members deserve to be made whole. Without them the trains don’t run, and the system doesn’t work. They deliver for Sac RT and the community.”
When Sac RT management continued to reject the union’s good faith efforts to address their issues, IBEW 1245 mobilized our members and labor and political allies to express concern about the lack of progress on wage equity. The vast majority of IBEW 1245 members at Sac RT signed an open letter to General Manager Henry Li, asking him to exercise leadership and avoid a stalemate. IBEW leadership met with SacRT Board members and leadership at the agency. The turning point came when IBEW 1245 Business Manager Bob Dean joined the bargaining team and made a direct appeal to Mr. Li across the Table.
Business Manager Dean thanked the membership for the high level of participation during negotiations and in the ratification vote. “Our unity and clarity about what’s important translated into power at the Table. Your action, the support of our labor and political allies, and the relationship IBEW 1245 has built with General Manager LI and SacRT over the years made all the difference.”
IBEW 1245 and Sac RT have enjoyed a strong, working partnership over the years. Most recently, IBEW 1245 was instrumental in helping the transit agency secure nearly $77 million in FTA funding for a Zero Emission Buses, Fueling, and Workforce Development Project. The project will finance the purchase of 29 state of the art fuel-cell buses, moving SacRT closer to meeting it’s goal of having a zero-emission fleet by 2040.
Chief negotiator for the Union, Sheila Lawton declared, “SacRT listened to our members’ concerns and addressed them. We are grateful to have reached a fair and equitable deal and look forward to continuing our positive working relationship with SacRT.”
– Eileen Purcell, Sr. Advisor to the Business Manager
RELATED:
- FAQ IBEW 1245 & Sac RT Contract Negotiations
- IBEW 1245 Demands Equity & Fairness, Rejects SacRT’s “Take It or Leave It” Approach
- IBEW 1245 MEMBERS AT SACRAMENTO REGIONAL TRANSIT DEMAND EQUITY
