ATU Local 1576 Bulletin November 2025

A Note from Your Officers

As we close out 2025, we look back on a year of hard work, marked by both wins and difficult challenges. From the shared loss of cherished members and retirees to the wins of our united efforts to strengthen the safety, well-being and financial security of our membership, we have gotten through this year together. This unity and good work would not be possible without the essential support and participation of our dedicated membership every step of the way. Thank you for all you do for this local and our communities. 

Dani, Lela, Dave, and Risë

Who Are Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1576?

When I went to my first Charter Meeting, I had no idea what our president at the time meant when she talked about having “5 properties and 6 contracts”. So I asked.

Our properties are 

• Community Transit
• Transdev Everett (formerly First Transit)
• Transdev DART
• Transdev Lakewood, and
• Island Transit

CT now has 2 contracts: 1 for the Transit Security Officers (which we didn’t have back when I started); and 1 for Coach Operator, Dispatch, Customer Information Specialist, Sales and Distribution, Service Ambassadors, Instructors, and Facilities Maintenance.

Transdev Lakewood also has 2 contracts: 1 for Coach Operators; and 1 for Supervisors and Dispatch. 

So: 5 properties, and now 7 contracts. And of those 7 contracts, 6 have been ratified in the last 12 months!

Island Transit Contract Negotiations

Island Transit organized into Local 1576 originally because of unfair treatment as a non-union work force, and because they were unable to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions with their employer. Their hope was that a strong union could bring them both a living wage and better working conditions.

Today, that hope has been realized. Island Transit has gone from the bottom of the regional pay scale to close to the top for comparable properties. 

Your ATU bargaining team (President Dani Julien, VP Lela Perkins, 

and Executive Board Officers Traynor Hunt and Susan Lien, and Shop Steward Jim McNaughton) was able to achieve a 17% first year market adjustment, followed by 3%/3%/3% over three years. This is in addition to the $5000 retention bonus we were able to negotiate for all members at the start of 2025. Once at the bottom of regional pay scale, now other local unions in our area are using Island Transit to strengthen their position at the bargaining table.

Transdev DART Negotiations

Paratransit service is required to cover the same territory and span of service hours as a fixed route service, but without any requirement to fund the service adequately. Hence, they are notoriously underpaid and understaffed.  In addition to these challenges, our Transdev Dart service in Everett has had multiple general managers in the last 5 years, has no one currently in HR, and their lead negotiator left the agency in the middle of contract negotiations. 

Your ATU negotiating team (President Dani Julien, VP Lela Perkins, and Executive Board Officer Sharon Parker) came away at the end of the day November 14th with a 

Tentative Agreement which included 5% full retroactivity, the 6%/5%/4% going forward for Operators; and 5% full retroactivity, then 5%/4%/4% going forward for Customer Service and Router Dispatchers. Negotiations were difficult and lengthy, and the membership voted overwhelmingly to accept the Tentative Agreement that was brought to them.

Community Transit Negotiations Updates

Since our last update in October, we have met with CT on November 5th, 11th, and 19th, December 2nd and 10th. Your negotiating team (all 4 Officers and all Executive Board members) is scheduled to meet again all day on December 17th.

At the December 2nd meeting we had a presentation from Elisio Acosta, ATU’s International Workforce Development Coordinator. He came to talk to our bargaining team as well as CT management about bringing a Mentorship and Apprenticeship program to Facilities Maintenance. There is language that we have in our contract to be able to open the door to a program like this. The program has been very successful at other Locals and we’re excited to get it going at CT, and ultimately to other classifications and other properties.

Your Election Committee Hard at Work!

Election Committee Update

Nominations were held on November 16th and 18th for our local officers as well as for executive board officers for each property.  Per the By-laws and the election committee decision, directly after our member meeting on Tuesday the 18th, the election committee met to start printing ballots, stuffing envelopes, and mailing them out. The committee met again on Wednesday, the 19th to finish the task, and the ballots were mailed on the 20th.

On November 26th, December 4th, and again on December 9th your Vice-Chair Tara Wickenburg and Recording Secretary Risë Gamble went to the post office to check for returned ballots. Chair Dave Thompson and Vice Chair Tara then worked to cure the returned ballots.

If you haven’t mailed your ballot yet 

DO NOT

• Bring it to the Union Hall, or

• Drop it in the Union mail box at base

It must be mailed in the secrecy envelope to keep from being invalidated.  Please vote. Your voice matters.

Please text ATU1576

to 47400 for important updates!

Budget Committee Annual Meeting: Per our By-Laws our Financial Secretary is the Chair of the committee which includes committee members Rachel Villa (Community Transit) and Ryan Cross (Transdev Everett). The committee met to review the budget for 2026 and it was presented to the Executive Board for review and was approved for recommendation to the membership in October; it was presented to the membership for review and discussion in October and again in November. And it will be voted on at the December 21st Charter Meeting, and December 23 members meeting.

CT Barrier Doors Update: Financial Secretary Dave Thompson reported that the glass demo for the barrier doors was completed, and the surveys were overwhelmingly positive. The next step is the rollout of the completed fully enclosed barrier door on a Swift coach. Unfortunately, tariffs have caused a slight delay. We are looking to present the demo by mid-January 2026.

Our next Charter meetings will be: 

• December 21, 2025 at 1:00pm in Everett
• December 23, 2025 at 10:00am in Everett

These are your best opportunities for having your voice heard, asking questions, and hearing the latest news.

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP)

PTASP originated with the Infrastructure and Investment Act of 2021. Its goal was to give teeth to transit agency safety plans that received federal funding and grants. Our local fought hard to have meaningful participation in developing the yearly agency safety plan, and we developed a new process to ensure our voice is heard loud and clear. Our 2026 Safety Plan was a collaborative effort with a new PTASP committee, which functions as a subcommittee of the Safety Committee, who approved the final work. The Board of Directors of Community Transit has now given final approval for the plan for 2026. Our Local’s innovative process drew the attention of the ATU International, who has decided to use our process to help other locals strengthen their own participation in this important process.

PEBB Fee for Medical Waivers

ATU Leadership learned during the rollout of re-enrollment that Community Transit was trying to add a $70 fee if you waived enrollment to be on a spouse’s plan. We do not believe this abides by the contract and have filed a grievance on behalf of all members.

Transdev Lakewood

For the first time since Covid, Transdev Lakewood was able to enjoy a holiday celebration.  Forty members signed up to meet at a local restaurant to celebrate a year of hard work and a hard-won contract.

Thank you for all that you do! Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Heri za Kwanzaa! May your Holidays be filled with love, laughter, and joy!