Santa Cruz Metro drivers narrowly avoid layoffs
Santa Cruz Metro bus drivers narrowly avoided being laid off, when a new budget was reached Friday, June 24, saving the drivers’ jobs. The budget hinges on a pending sales tax ballot measure to be voted on by taxpayers in the November elections.
Metro approved a two-year budget on Friday that preserves the 146 full-time bus drivers’ jobs.
General Chairperson Eduardo Montesino told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that it’s important to get behind November’s tax ballot measure. According to the Sentinel, both members of Local 23 and management took last-minute concessions for the second consecutive year, saving the company the equivalent of three full-time jobs.
“If you support us, support us all the way. If you support Metro routes and service, be an advocate for the sales tax, because that’s one critical point. If we miss this opportunity, there will not be another one for years,” Montesino told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.