Driving it home--Charlottesville bus drivers look to unionize

For decades, Virginia has had controversial right-to-work laws, which ban employers from requiring union membership. Though supporters of the laws claim they protect the rights of workers and attract businesses, others say they weaken unions, keep wages low, and benefit corporations—Virginia has one of the lowest unionization rates in the country. But under the Democratic majority in the General Assembly, labor laws have slowly begun to change. And Charlottesville Area Transit drivers are hoping to take advantage of that.

Thanks to new laws, municipalities now have the authority to enact ordinances allowing city and county employees to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. Previously, state law prohibited municipalities from recognizing any union as a bargaining agent for public employees.

“We’ve been active as far as trying to get [a union] together for a while now, but just haven’t been really successful,” says Matthew Ray, who has driven for CAT for seven and a half years. “Having representation—a go-between between us and the city—is definitely needed now.”

The primary reason for the union push is wages. Full-time CAT drivers start at $16.97 an hour. Only a few currently earn over $20 an hour—the longest-serving driver makes $23.28 an hour. (Over a year, $20 per hour of full-time work comes to about $41,000.)

Read more: https://www.c-ville.com/driving-it-home
(Charlottesville Weekly)