Chittenden County Transportation Authority officials and striking bus drivers are ready to get back to the negotiating table after last weekend’s session ended in failure.
CCTA management said in a press release Thursday that a contract proposal from drivers was “credible,” indicating that the new proposal showed some movement toward compromise on at least some of the issues dividing the parties.
“We were hoping to see a proposal that represented some compromise and some movement on their previously held positions,” said CCTA spokeswoman Meredith Birkett. “We don’t want to get into the details of those at this point, but I think it’s fair to say that we feel like the [new] proposal does offer some room for negotiations.”
More than 60 bus drivers, members of Teamsters Local 597, went on strike 12 days ago.
Birkett said the two sides had agreed to meet for a mediated negotiating session sometime in the next several days, but declined to further specify.
As to whether Chittenden County commuters might be taking the bus as soon as Monday, Birkett said it was too soon to say.
“I know that we’re going to certainly work as hard as possible to resolve things as quickly as possible,” she said.
