Drivers for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority are now being paid to stand on the picket lines on Church Street in Burlington and in front of the CCTA headquarters.
“We did receive our first payment last week,” said driver Rob Slingerland, who has been acting as a spokesman for the striking drivers. But the payments aren’t dispersed to drivers unless they sign in for their shift on the picket line. The payments started the second week of the strike.
“If they’re not on line doing their shift,” he said, “they don’t get paid for the day.”
Slingerland said the pay, which comes from the Teamsters union, is “nothing compared to our weekly paycheck,” but didn’t say how much is paid out or how the dollar amount is decided. Slingerland said the rate of pay was not sustainable.
“I’ve just got to get my strike group to sign in for their shifts and then sign out,” he said.
Slingerland said the drivers’ union was crafting a new proposal late Monday afternoon and they would likely send it to the company before the end of the day.
