Veolia Transportation Services in Phoenix, AZ has been accused by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 104 of bargaining in bad faith. Early Monday morning Veolia, which operates 33 of the city’s 99 bus routes, locked out approximately 60 maintenance workers and replaced them with non-union crews after contract talks came to a stalemate. According to the Arizona Republic, union officials filed the charges claiming Veolia wrongly said an impasse had occurred in order to essentially stop negotiations. The Republic reports that Veolia decided to lockout workers over concerns of a sudden strike that would leave thousands of riders stranded. No meetings are planned between the two sides, although Veolia is hinting of possible talks resuming within a week. For more, visit www.azcentral.com.
