MTI Report 01-02 Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies Created by Congress in 1991 TRANSIT LABOR RELATIONS GUIDE Mineta Transportation Institute San Jos é State University San Jose, CA 95192-0219 Mineta Transportation Institute Report 01-02 TRANSIT LABOR RELATIONS GUIDE September 2001 Herbert H. Oestreich (Principal Investigator) George L. Whaley (Research Associate) a publication of the Mineta Transportation Institute Created by Congress in 1991 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA/CA/OR-9906 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Transit Labor Relations Guide September 2001 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. Herbert H. Oestreich (PI), George Whaley (RA) 01-02 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business, San José State University 11. Contract or Grant No. San Jose, CA 95129-0219 65W136 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered California Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Sacramento, CA 95819 Research and Special Programs Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 400 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20590-0001 15. Supplementary Notes This research project was financially sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration and by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). 16. Abstract Transit organizations, both public and private, are under great internal and external pressures today to improve their organizational effectiveness. Studies have shown that the collective bargaining relationship between union and management, particularly the collective bargaining agreement, has a direct, measurable effect on organiza- tional effectiveness. Both transit manageent and transit unions have begun to recognize that it is in their mutual inaterest to improve organizational effectiveness by turning otward a more cooperative collective bargaining relationship. In particular, they have experimented with a negotiating style called “interest-based bargaining” and with a problem solving approach through joint labor-management committees. There is a great deal of misinformation on both subjects, and it is the purpose of this paper to dispel the myths about interest-basedf bargaining and give examples of wh en this approach has worked. A historical background has been provided about5 transit unions as well as stransit strikes, and what should have been learned from those mistakes. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Transit, Union, Labor, Management, Bargaining, Negotiation No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 136 $15.00 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Copyright © 2001 by MTI All rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001094839 To order this publication, please contact the following: The Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business—BT550 San José State University San Jose, CA 95192-0219 Tel (408) 924-7560 Fax (408) 924-7565 Email: [email protected] http://transweb.sjsu.edu ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Our foremost appreciation goes to Trixie Johnson, Research Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University. We are grateful to her not only for her guidance and great moral support throughout this project, but also for her substantive contributions. She has freely shared with us her wealth of experience in transit and government organizations. Credit is also due to Rod Diridon, Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University, for his support and guidance in the project. Among the members of the administrative staff of the Institute who have been very helpful in getting the research report into acceptable format are Miriam Ayllon, Sonya Cardenas, and Jeanne Dittman. We wish to extend our special thanks also to the many transit labor relations practitioners and scholars who shared their knowledge and insights with us. We can mention only a few here: Darold Barnum, author of the landmark publication From Private to Public: Labor Relations in Urban Mass Transit; Jerry Benson, Human Resource Director, Utah Transit Authority; John Fiscella, consultant with the DC Labor-Management Partnership Council, formerly an IBN facilitator with the Office of the American Workplace, U.S. Department of Labor; Richard Giacolone, FMCS Institute Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; Richard C. Kearney, Chair, Department of Political Science, East Carolina University, and author of the text Labor Relations in the Public Sector; Howard Lewis, formerly Director of Labor Relations, Bay Area Rapid Transit System; Kent McDaniel, Institute for Urban Transportation, Indiana University; Bill McLean, President & Business Agent, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265; Robert Molofsky, General Counsel, Amalgamated Transit Union; Lynne Morel, Shop Steward, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245; James Olivetti, Director, Information Center, American Public Transportation Association (formerly American Public Transit Association); Terry Palmer, Chairperson, Non-Contract Employees Committee, Sacramento Regional Transit Authority; Stephanie Robinson, formerly Senior Program Officer, Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board; Michal Settles, Director of Human Resources, Bay Area Rapid Transit System; Frank Shipman, Vice President of Human Resources and Employee Relations, San Diego Transit Corporation. Finally, we feel indebted to the many participants at conferences and training workshops who have shared their insights and experiences with us. Any shortcomings in this report remain our responsibility alone Transit Labor Relations Guide i TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................... ........... 1 THE PROBLEM...................................................................................................... ........... 1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY............................................................ ........... 1 TWO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SYSTEMS.................................................. ........... 2 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TRANSIT LABOR RELATIONS............................. ........... 5 THE EARLIEST FORM OF TRANSIT: FERRY BOATS..................................... ........... 5 THE HORSE-DRAWN TRANSIT VEHICLE ERA............................................... ........... 6 THE NEW TECHNOLOGY.................................................................................... ........... 8 THE GREAT GREYHOUND STRIKES................................................................ ........... 9 LESSONS LEARNED............................................................................................. ......... 13 2. THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF TRANSIT RELATIONS................................................................................. ......... 17 SOME ECONOMIC REALITIES........................................................................... ......... 17 THE RATIONAL COMMUTER............................................................................. ......... 18 NEGOTIATED INCENTIVES................................................................................ ......... 19 PART-TIME LABOR.............................................................................................. ......... 20 PRIVATIZATION................................................................................................... ......... 22 THE UNIONS.......................................................................................................... ......... 23 THE STRIKE ENVIRONMENT............................................................................. ......... 26 THE POLITICAL ROLE OF THE TRANSIT STRIKE......................................... ......... 29 THE POLITICAL COMPLEXITIES OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR........................ ......... 30 LEADERSHIP STYLE............................................................................................ ......... 32 THE NEW LABOR ECONOMICS......................................................................... ......... 33 3. THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF TRANSIT LABOR RELATIONS......... ......... 37 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... ......... 37 PRIVATE SECTOR TRANSIT EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.................... ......... 37 PUBLIC SECTOR TRANSIT EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES...................... ......... 42 THE MEMPHIS FORMULA.................................................................................. ......... 43 EARLY ENABLING STATE LEGISLATION...................................................... ......... 45 ENABLING STATE LEGISLATION SINCE 1964............................................... ......... 47 STATES WHICH STILL PROHIBIT PUBLIC SECTOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING............................................................................... ......... 51 DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING....................................................................... ......... 52 SUMMARY............................................................................................................