On March 12, union bus drivers and mechanics at Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, represented by United Auto Workers Local 2300, voted 84% in favor of authorizing a strike if it is needed in their current contract negotiation process. As of March 14, there is not a planned work stoppage and TCAT buses will run normally, but workers are willing and ready to strike, giving the UAW’s bargaining team more potential leverage in contract negotiation. 

In a press release updated March 14, TCAT stated that the company has been making contingency plans for a potential work stoppage. If a stoppage occurs, service will continue on a reduced basis, and plans will be announced on the MyStop app and through TCAT social media platforms on Facebook and X. 

On Jan. 31, the UAW bargaining team brought a 22-page proposal to TCAT. This proposal included demands like a living wage consistent with the most recent local studies for all workers, better retirement packages, premium pay for extra work, better staff retention incentives and cost of living adjustments. 

Throughout February, TCAT offered multiple counter-proposals to the UAW bargaining team, none of which the bargaining team deemed satisfactory. On March 4, TCAT delivered its final offer, which the UAW bargaining team found inconsistent with its demands. 

Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones, general manager of TCAT, said the company could not provide cost-of-living adjustments due to the current instability of inflation. He said TCAT rejects the proposal to incentivise the recruitment of new mechanics. 

“[The most recent offer represents] a record investment in our staff here at TCAT while balancing the uncertainty in future transit funding,” Rosenbloom-Jones said in a press release. “TCAT cannot push additional costs onto our riders and local taxpayers.”