Metrolink Matters Last week, the Metrolink Board of Directors approved a historic multi-year collective bargaining agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1277. The agreement is the first between the agency and represented employees and covers wages, benefits and working conditions for 36 ATU Metrolink dispatching supervisors, train dispatchers and communications coordinators that comprise 14 percent of the agency’s 262-person workforce.
The three-year agreement has an estimated cost of $730,000, which includes approximately 14% of salaries and benefits adjustments over the term of the contract for the employees included. The union membership ratified the pact in an election on Feb. 6.
“We are gratified that Metrolink and our represented employees could reach an agreement that ensures continued safe operation for our riders,” said Metrolink CEO Stephanie Wiggins.
The contract contains industry-leading pay and benefits for workers who dispatch trains and support operations over Metrolink’s 538 route miles in six Southern California counties.
Metrolink is the nation’s third largest commuter rail system, based on route miles, with more than 40,000 weekday boardings. In addition to passenger trains, each month, Metrolink dispatches more than 1,400 freight trains and 4 million pounds of goods on Metrolink tracks used by BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad.
The contract runs through Dec. 31, 2022.
