LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- TARC employees rallied Thursday afternoon at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville to talk about their workplace safety concerns.
The issues center on an ongoing contract dispute and incidents where employees and passengers have felt threatened. According to an email from by Lillian Brents, president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1447, representing TARC employees, the most recent incident involved a passenger who allegedly pulled a gun and fired three shots. No one was injured but the bus was damaged.
An email from Jenny Recktenwald, TARC's director of marketing and communications, disputed the facts of that incident, saying "a preliminary safety investigation concluded that a firearm was brandished, but not fired, near a TARC bus. (Kentucky has no laws prohibiting or otherwise regulating the open carrying of firearms in public, therefore TARC cannot prevent a passenger from boarding a bus with a firearm.)"
Another big issue for bus drivers: They said there's no way to call for help in emergencies because many of the buses do not have working radios.
"Our operators have had medical emergencies on their buses while working and their radios were broken so they couldn’t contact TARC’s Safety Department," Brents said in the written statement. "This is unacceptable and dangerous."
Recktenwald responded to that complaint in a written statement, saying, "Buses will not be put on the road without an operating radio."
Recktenwald's statement goes on to say that all buses "have both data and voice capabilities. If something were to fail with the data functionality, the system goes into voice fallback and the driver (Coach Operator) is still able to communicate with dispatch."
However, James Rosenstein-Hopkins, a union spokesman, said this image contradicts a TARC statement.
However, James Rosenstein-Hopkins, a union spokesman, said that's not accurate, citing the attached image:
"As discussed attached is an image from July 19th, 2022 stating buses won’t be swapped for radio issues," he said. "Also the line "if you need assistance please pull your coach over and get out of your seat and call radio" is instructing operators to use their cell phones while in-service, which would put operators in violation of TARC’s own cell phone policy. The attached PDF is several pre-trip defect reports, which operators use to report problems on their bus before leaving the garage but fill out and turn in after they return. Lillian Brents (included on this email) and I are available to talk in more detail if needed."
As for the ongoing contract negotiations, Recktenwald had this to say: "We feel confident that the parties can collaborate to reach an agreement that acknowledges the hard work and dedication of its ATU Local 1447 employees, meets the service demands of its customers, and conforms to the financial parameters of a fixed budget."
So far, there have been five negotiating sessions, according to Brents, and no progress has been made.
In her statement, Recktenwald said: "We are negotiating in good faith and have responded in a timely manner to every proposal the Union has made."
The fact that TARC's revenues are fixed and can't be changed without legislative action means they cannot enact salary increases at this time, according to Recktenwald's statement.
The top salary for a bus driver now stands at $26.13 per hours, plus benefits. Mechanics earn $26.82 per hour. Rectenwald said the increases the union is asking for would mean "a $55 million increase in TARC’s operating budget over the next three years, which would result in TARC running out of money by the end of 2024."
TARC currently has about 440 employees, according to Brents.
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