Release Date: July 20,2026
METRO Board of Trustees - Statement on Labor Negotiations
July 20, 2026, Akron, Ohio — On July 16th, 2026, The METRO Board of Trustees unanimously approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement between METRO and Teamsters Local 348, which represents METRO’s mechanics, facility maintenance and other maintenance personnel.
The Board thanks Teamsters Local 348 and METRO’s negotiating team for their work in reaching a fair and responsible agreement. Previous agreements focused on exchanging compensation for higher insurance premiums and have set the stage for what was a fair negotiation process. That type of mutual and constructive compromise is essential to reaching an agreement that recognizes employees while protecting METRO’s ability to provide reliable and financially sustainable public transportation.
METRO also updated the board on the ongoing negotiations between METRO and TWU Local 1, which represents METRO’s customer service representatives, vehicle servicers, and bus operators. Those negotiations remain open, and METRO remains committed to reaching an agreement.
METRO’s goal in every negotiation is the same: greater consistency and fairness across all of its employees, represented and non-represented alike, and long-term financial stability for the system that our community depends on. Those goals are legitimate, they are grounded in ordinary questions of cost, attendance, and operations, and they apply the same way to every bargaining unit. METRO values every one of its employees and the work they do for this community.
These are not simply METRO’s assertions. The unresolved bargaining issues between METRO and TWU Local 1 were submitted to a neutral Factfinder appointed under Ohio law, who held a hearing, took evidence from both sides, and applied the statutory criteria that govern public-sector bargaining. Her Report, which is a matter of public record with the State Employment Relations Board, recommended meaningful compensation for TWU-represented employees and, at the same time, recognized as reasonable a shared increase in health-insurance premium contributions to sustain the plan. That is the give-and-take of good-faith bargaining, evaluated and validated by an impartial third party, which METRO has continued to utilize after the Union rejected the Factfinder’s Report.
METRO has offered to meet with TWU Local 1 on any day in July and remains ready to do so. The parties last met on July 10th, where at that time METRO made a package counter proposal for the TWU to consider, centered around wages and healthcare. As of the date of this letter there has been no response from TWU, and no other dates have been scheduled.
METRO looks forward to returning to the bargaining table in good-faith to achieve a fair agreement.