San Francisco Muni operators ratify contract

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Municipal Railway operators ratified a contract Monday in a deal brokered by former Mayor Willie Brown that gives employees a roughly 15 percent raise over three years but has employees paying greater contributions to pensions, the union announced today.

In a vote passed 634-485 on Monday, Transport Workers Union Local 250-A ratified an agreement that has Muni operators paying 7.5 percent of their pension costs.

The operators will receive a 3.18 percent raise next year, followed by 3.16 percent raises in 2016 and 2017 to offset contributions to their pension costs, which will be phased in over that time.

The operators will also receive an additional 1.75 percent raise later this year, followed by separate 1.5 percent raises in 2015 and 2016.

Once all of the raises have taken effect in early 2017, the operators will have an effective pay increase of about 15.1 percent from their current wages and will be paying 7.5 percent of their pension costs.

The tentative agreement was reached on the last day of the workers' previous contract, June 30, and was negotiated by Brown at the request of Mayor Ed Lee.

"I am grateful that both the Muni drivers and the SFMTA have reached a fair and responsible agreement that honors workers and Muni riders, and keeps our public transportation system on a sustainable fiscal path," Lee said in a statement Tuesday while also thanking Brown for his efforts.

The union, which represents about 2,000 employees, voted to reject a previous agreement in May, leading to a three-day Muni "sickout" during the first three days of June.

About half of the agency's drivers didn't show up for work during the sickout, causing significant transit disruptions.