Bus drivers for Laidlaw Transit Services, one of three private contractors that operate fixed bus routes for RTD, voted Friday to form an all-union shop.
Just over 75 percent of 248 eligible drivers supported the Colorado Labor Peace Act vote, said Holman Carter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001.
In January, Laidlaw workers voted in favor of union representation in a federal National Labor Relations Board vote, Carter said.
Colorado law requires the second, separate Labor Peace Act vote if workers seek to have a union shop. Under a union-shop arrangement, all employees represented by the union must join or at least pay a portion of fees that support collective bargaining.
“They were very enthusiastic about both votes, and it showed up in the results,” Carter said of the Laidlaw employees.
Local 1001 represents 1,808 drivers, mechanics and other employees who work directly for the Regional Transportation District. They have an all-union shop.
The union also represents about 250 bus drivers at First Transit Inc., another private operator of RTD bus routes, and about 260 drivers at Veolia Transportation, the third private RTD bus contractor.
First Transit drivers have an all-union shop and a contract with Local 1001 that expires in November.
There are about 260 drivers at Veolia, where employees voted in favor of Local 1001 representation last July, Carter said. The union still is negotiating its first contract with Veolia, he added.
About 54 percent of RTD’s bus service, including access-a-Ride and call-n-Ride services, is contracted out to private companies.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
