Universal Tour Drivers Return to Work Under New Contract
Universal Studios Tour drivers and mechanics ended a nine-day strike Wednesday by returning to work under a new contract that includes pay raises for all 120 workers but retains the two-tier wage scale.
In addition, 60 electricians and maintenance workers who were fired for refusing to cross picket lines were back at work Wednesday at the 420-acre park.
“We got amnesty from Universal in exchange for withdrawing a complaint we filed with the National Labor Relations Board on the firings,” said Timothy Dixon, assistant business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 40. “Everybody’s really happy about it.”
Earl Bush, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Union Local 399, which represents the mechanics and drivers, said the strikers voted 57 to 30 late Tuesday to accept the offer. Workers had voted 48 to 37 to turn down the same proposal late Monday.
New Vote
Union member Dale Warner said workers asked for a new vote because some missed the first one. Although approximately the same number of people--85--voted each night, the mix was different, with many people who voted Monday failing to show up for balloting Tuesday.
“The other reason the vote changed is because four workers crossed the picket line Tuesday morning, and that had an effect on union solidarity,” said Warner, a mechanic. “Some workers got nervous about losing their jobs.”
Workers had walked off the job Aug. 1 after contract negotiations broke down over a proposed four-year wage freeze and the continuance of a two-tier wage scale.
Under the old contract, Universal paid newly hired tram drivers $15.08 an hour, $2.50 less than drivers who were hired before August, 1985, Bush said.
The new 46-month contract, which is retroactive to Aug. 1, narrows the wage gap between drivers but does not close it, Bush said.
Under the new contract, all tram drivers will receive a 25-cent-per-hour wage hike this year, with 50-cent-per-hour raises over each of the next three years. In addition, the lower paid tram drivers will receive additional 10-cent-per-hour raises each year, Bush said.
Joan Bullard, a spokeswoman for Universal Studio Tours, said the company is “delighted to have the whole team back together again.”
