The RTC bus driver strike entered its fourth week as Keolis representatives were scheduled to meet with Teamsters Local 533 leaders Monday afternoon to negotiate.
Drivers continued picketing outside the main station in downtown Reno Monday as they increase calls for transportation leaders to 'Fire Keolis,' RTC's contractor for Reno-Sparks public transportation service.
Here's a rundown of the latest updates as the bus driver strike continues.
MEETINGS SCHEDULED
Teamsters president Gary Watson confirmed to News 4-FOX 11 that the two sides were scheduled to meet starting at 1:00 p.m. Monday.
"We are hopeful that today's negotiations will be fruitful but we will wait to see if Keolis will bargain in good faith," Watson said Monday afternoon.
After two bargaining sessions in early October, Keolis offered to extend the current collective bargaining agreement, including a 3% pay raise for all employees — if the union agreed to drop its charges against Keolis with the National Labor Relations Board.
TWO ROUTES ADDED
RTC was able to run two additional bus routes on Monday, in addition to the four routes that have been running since the strike began on Sept. 27.
As of Oct. 18, routes 1, 5, 7, 11 and 18 were running with limited service. The Carson City connector route also continued to run.
RTC continued to offer shuttle rides using its FlexRIDE service, as well as offering Uber and taxi vouchers. All services offered during the strike will be free, RTC officials said.
'FIRE KEOLIS' CALLS GROW LOUDER
Calls to 'Fire Keolis' have grown louder in recent weeks, with union members circulating an online petition to ditch the French-based transportation contractor.
As of Oct. 18, organizers had gathered almost 500 signatures.
Late last month, Neoma Jardon, the elected chair of the RTC board, resisted such calls, saying that Keolis has met the parameters of its contract since taking over bus operations in July 2019.
BLOCK BIDDING
Despite resolving differences over health care during the last strike, union leaders called for the second strike in response to Keolis proposing changes to driver scheduling.
Watson said Keolis wants to institute 'block bidding' to schedule drivers, under which drivers would have less flexibility and could be forced to have split days off or split shifts.
Keolis executives have argued the block bidding proposal is consistent with industry standards.
“Keolis has a track record of successful, productive negotiations with multiple unions, including the Teamsters, across the United States and in other Nevada locations. The proposals from last week’s negotiation sessions are consistent with industry standards in other organized locations, including block bidding," wrote Keolis regional vice president of operations Mike Ake.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on Twitter and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.