Travis Transit Agrees to Pay Employees $655,000 in Lost Benefits

Over 600 employees and former employees of Travis Transit Management Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of McDonald Transit Associates, Inc. (the Employer), who provides fixed route bus service to Capital Metro in Austin, Texas, will receive $655,000 as compensation for losses of retirement contributions, health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket health expenses, and other pay and benefits pursuant to settlement of charges before the National Labor Relations Board.   
The NLRB’s Region 16 office in Fort Worth agreed with the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1091, AFL-CIO (the Union) that the Employer violated the National Labor Relations Act when, among other acts, it unilaterally implemented changes to its employees’ health insurance benefits and retirement plan contributions at the time it began operations for Capital Metro in 2012. 
On November 7, 2014, the Employer and the Union entered into a Board settlement agreement resolving the dispute, which was approved by Administrative Law Judge Ira Sandron, in which the Employer agreed to pay a total of $655,000 as compensation for losses incurred by over 600 employees as a result of the changes to the plans that were implemented without the approval of the Union.  The Employer also agreed to post a notice in its workplace that addressed the alleged violations and advised employees of their rights under the Act.