CARTA bus driver rally
photo by Joseph Dycus
The ATU Local 1212 bus drivers and the Chattanooga Area Labor Council held a Sunday afternoon rally for CARTA bus drivers with drivers and supporters questioning why CARTA took away hazard pay on Jan 31, as they said CARTA received around $15 million in COVID relief funding and is set to get even more.
At the rally in front of the courthouse bus stop, the drivers asked for reinstatement of hazard pay for bus drivers, and “appointment of a bus driver representative to the CARTA board by the next mayoral administration.” Several drivers spoke about how their position as front line workers means they are constantly exposed to people who may have the COVID-19 virus.
James Boles, a CARTA driver for almost 13 years, was one of the drivers who contracted the COVID-19 virus in November. He said his experience with the virus was so severe the doctors needed to put him on a ventilator and told him he might not survive.
“On Nov. 10 I went into the hospital with COVID and went into ICU and stayed there til Dec. 12,” Mr. Boles said. “The doctors were telling me I would more than likely die that night on the 10th, and I went to bed praying to God like crazy.”
While Mr. Boles did survive, he said he was very close to losing his life. While Mr. Boles said hazard pay would not directly protect the drivers from getting the virus, he said hazard pay could help drivers get what they need to protect them from it. He said he still wants to come back, but because of his pacemaker, he has not been able to return.
“Things like hand sanitizer and the mask on your face and the Lysol wipes you need to keep your area sterilized. We don’t need to lose that right now, and this is coming from the driver who just about died,” Mr. Boles said.
Another driver echoed what Mr. Boles stated, and said she and many other drivers used their hazard pay to buy cleaning supplies. She said the fact that members of management received back pay and raises was a “slap in the face.”
“We use hazard pay to clean our buses to our standards,” the driver said. “We’re not just chanting for the extra money. No. We use that money to buy supplies. At the Family Dollar, I go by there and buy four cans of disinfecting wipes at a time.”
Lakecha Strickland, president of ATU local 1212, said workers were given two different stories about why they were not to continue providing hazard pay for drivers.
“Prior to stopping the hazardous pay, the board approved giving Lisa Marangano and the CFO hazard back pay,” Ms. Strickland said. “That was just a slap in the face. The feds gave you that money to take care of your workers.”
She said any Chattanoogan who wants to reach out to the CARTA board can do so by going to tinyurl.com/busdriversdeservebetter and writing a message to the board. In a response published on Friday, executive director Lisa Maragnano said this about the 26 drivers who were considered for layoffs.
“We also would like to correct misinformation regarding lay-offs as set forth contained in the press release from the ATU. The 26 employees which we considered for layoffs were all part-time operators who were utilized only when work was available. To keep them on the payroll but not provide them work would be a disservice to them, as it would have prevented them from drawing unemployment.
“When the chaos of those early months finally diminished, CARTA was very pleased that not one single federally-funded position was laid off. The Chattanooga Parking Authority had to lay off staff due to decreased parking downtown and attendant lack of revenue, but those positions are funded entirely through parking revenue."”
Ms. Strickland said this was false. She said CARTA did consider laying off several full-time employees. She said this included 25 full-time fixed route drivers, three part-time fixed route drivers, 12 full-time shuttle drivers, five part-time Care-A-Van operators, and four part-time Care-A-Van staff. She said that after this was rescinded, the raises and promotions were handed out.