Charlottesville Area Transit union calls for city to end contract with JAUNT

Note: This post was published on this website on March 14, 2024 and back-dated as I write a follow-up.

As Albemarle and Charlottesville officials continue to discuss expanding regional transit, the role of organized labor may make long-planned dreams more complicated to achieve. On February 20, a representative of the Amalgamated Transit Union that represents Charlottesville Area Transit asked the City Council to consider ending its contract with Jaunt.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that any mass transit system in the country also provide equivalent transportation services to the disabled,” said John Ertl of ATU Local 1764. “Throughout this country, this so-called paratransit service is sometimes run in-house and sometimes contracted out to a third party.” 

Ertl said localities contract out that service to save money through reduced wages and benefits and he claimed employees at Jaunt have sought to organize. 

“The union then asked the Jaunt Board of Supervisors to recognize the union and pass a collective bargaining resolution that would enable those workers to unionize and bargain a contract just like we did at CAT,” Ertl said. 

Jaunt is governed by a 14-member board with four representatives from both Albemarle and Charlottesville, as well as two each from Louisa County, Fluvanna County, and Nelson County.

Ertl said 39 Charlottesville Area Transit and pupil transportation employees unanimously ratified their contract on February 4.

“This is a huge milestone for workers’ rights in the city and for our public transit system,” Ertl said. 

Ertl said the Board of Directors claim that the enabling authority that passed the General Assembly in 2020 does not apply to their organization. 

“In the end, their short-sighted refusal to grant union rights will only harm Jaunt as they lose employees to CAT,” Ertl said. 

Ertl said the union wants the city to explore ending its contract with Jaunt and to run paratransit services in-house. Jaunt’s Board of Directors meet tomorrow and an update on the union is on the agenda.

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the March 4, 2024 edition of the newsletter and podcast. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.