Tompkins County Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) and UAW Local 2300 came to a tentative agreement Thursday following 17 consecutive hours of negotiations. Drivers are seeking higher wages to compensate for the ever-increasing costs of health care. Many also are in favor of a slightly shorter day ? bus drivers currently operate under a 9-hour day minimum. A strike had been authorized for Friday, causing Cornell, Ithaca College, and TC3 to come up with alternative transport plans, but negotiations continued until an agreement was reached. The UAW Local 2300 is scheduled to vote on the new contract on October 5th, and will run on normal schedules until that point.
See "TCAT?s tentative deal addresses hours, wages", Tim Ashmore, The Ithaca Journal, September 16, 2008