Union pickets as negotiations with Community Transit continue

Published 3:44 pm Friday, July 17, 2026

LYNNWOOD — Members of the union representing employees at Community Transit held an informational picket on Friday as the union continues prolonged negotiations with the transit agency over a renewal of its collective bargaining agreement.

The Amalgamated Transit Union local 1576, which represents bus drivers, dispatchers and facilities maintenance employees at the Snohomish County transit agency, have been in talks over a contract renewal with Community Transit for about a year and a half, since its last contract expired at the end of 2024.

Earlier this month, the union and Community Transit agreed to enter into mediation, meaning an impartial third party will enter into contract renewal discussions to attempt to reach a resolution.

The union’s action on Friday wasn’t a strike; the agency’s bus service continued uninterrupted.

Union members said they are looking for a fair wage and an increased commitment to address safety issues for operators, said Jaswinder Bains, the union’s president, during the picket near the Lynnwood City Center bus hub on Friday.

“We just want everybody to have a fair wage,” Bains said. “And also, the safety issues for the public and our members, if the transit workers have a more safe environment, we can protect the public.”

Possible safety measures the union is hoping for is the installation of more safety barrier doors on buses and an increase in support for transit workers that work in public areas, Bains said.

In a statement Friday, Community Transit spokesperson Monica Spain wrote that the agency is “working in earnest to establish a new contract with our ATU chapter.”

“We will decline to comment at this time while negotiations are ongoing,” she wrote.

Community Transit’s had proposed increasing wages for workers by 2.5% per year for three years, said Dan Harlan, the union’s financial secretary, a difficult ask for employees dealing with rising prices who haven’t received a pay raise since the last collective bargaining contract lapsed.

“Everybody’s struggling. I mean, everybody’s struggling,” Harlan said. “But we’re looking to try and get a better deal.”

Tara Wickenburg, a driver with Community Transit for three years, said that improved safety for drivers was a top priority in negotiations.

“It’s a great job, I love driving,” she said. “But it’s time. It’s time to protect drivers and listen to us.”

Although contract negotiations have been prolonged, Harlan said that the union and the agency are “trying to get it figured out on both sides,” and workers were hopeful a resolution could be reached soon.

“Hopefully, a lot of it will be worked out in mediation and we won’t have to wait much longer,” Harlan said.

Contract negotiations between the union and the transit agency have been prolonged in the past. In 2018, the union and Community Transit spent more than two years in contract talks after the collective bargaining agreement expired in 2016. Renewing the contract before that also took around 24 months, according to previous Herald reporting.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.