Harrisonburg transit workers ask council to consider bargaining ordinance

At the Nov. 10 City Council meeting, Harrisonburg transit workers and supporters asked the city to consider an ordinance allowing city transit employees to organize and negotiate over salaries and benefits. The request was advocacy, not a council vote or adopted policy.

The Harrisonburg Citizen reported that driver Austin Moody said a majority of city bus operators had signed authorization cards with ATU Local 1220. The Citizen gave no exact count and did not independently verify the claim. Moody also said he had sent council members a proposed agreement modeled on Charlottesville’s ordinance and tailored to Harrisonburg’s civil code. The Citizen did not report its full text or specific terms.

The Citizen also reported driver Levi Riffey urged recognition of municipal employees’ ability to organize, while former Harrisonburg Education Association president Andrew Thompson argued transit workers who transport children should be included in collective bargaining.

Did the council approve the request? The Citizen’s account reports no council action on it. The city’s meeting archive lists a 7 p.m. start and a duration of 1 hour 26 minutes. The request did not itself change workers’ pay, benefits or bargaining rights. The Citizen’s account identifies no decision date or scheduled next step.