<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1y3rUk_1FTvMv4O00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1y3rUk_1FTvMv4O00" width="1200" height="600" >WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Wave Transit bus drivers are speaking out over what they call unsustainable pay and benefits, telling Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority board members they can no longer afford to make ends meet. Drivers and members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1328 addressed the board Thursday, saying low wages, high health insurance premiums and unsafe working conditions have pushed many of them to take on two and three jobs just to get by. Yzosne Riley, an ATU Local 1328 member who has driven for Wave Transit for nearly 25 years and driven school buses for almost 40 years, said she still faces financial hardship.“I worked here for almost 25 years. I’ve driven a school bus and still am for almost 40 years, and I’m doing both of those at the same time, and I’m even doing DoorDash, and I still cannot make my ends meet,” Riley said. Michael General, ATU Local 1328 president and business agent, said drivers deserve the same respect and stability as workers in other fields. “Why don’t we just leave? We feed our families this way, and I just think we deserve to get the respect that every other profession gets, to provide for their family from day to day,” General said. General added that the financial pressure often forces him to choose which bills to pay first. “I’m going to be late on my car insurance and telephone bill because I have to pay my mortgage so all that plays a role when you can look at one paycheck and sustain the lifestyle that you’re living from day to day so it’s more than really just money, I think we need to be paid our worth,” he said. County Manager Chris Coudrait told drivers during the meeting that the board itself cannot negotiate pay or benefits. He said Wave Transit contracts with Transdev, a private company responsible for negotiating directly with the drivers’ union. A Transdev representative was expected to attend the meeting to respond to drivers’ concerns but did not show up. It is unclear when Transdev and ATU Local 1328 will resume or begin negotiations. </div></body>

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WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Wave Transit bus drivers are speaking out over what they call unsustainable pay and benefits, telling Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority board members they can no longer afford to make ends meet. Drivers and members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1328 addressed the board Thursday,...

Wave Transit drivers say pay, benefits are unsustainable

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WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Wave Transit bus drivers are speaking out over what they call unsustainable pay and benefits, telling Cape Fear Public Transporta

Wave Transit drivers say pay, benefits are unsustainable

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