DETROIT – The Detroit Department of Transportation bus drivers will see an immediate $3 per hour wage increase under a new memorandum of understanding between the city and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26.
The announcement was made on Thursday (Jan. 4) by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Interim Transit Director Michael Staley, and union president Schetrone Collier.
Starting pay for new drivers has risen to $19.15 per hour from the current rate of $16.15 per hour.
Maximum pay for those working for DDOT for at least four years will jump to $25.61 per hour from the current cap of $22.61.
The agreement also increases the quarterly attendance bonus from $1,000 a quarter to $1,500 for every driver with no more than three unexcused absences per quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2023, 76% of active drivers earned the attendance bonus.
The collective bargaining agreement expires on July 1, 2025, but Duggan said he reopened the contract 18 months early to give the drivers a well-deserved raise.
“This is equivalent to an $8,000 a year pay raise for the great majority of our operators who earn the attendance bonus,” said Duggan. “This raise is well-deserved.”
Duggan said his office will formally transmit the agreement to the Detroit City Council by the end of this week for its approval. He said once it is approved, the increases will take immediate effect.
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“An immediate $3 per hour increase in pay with the ability to earn up to $6,000 more per year is going to do two things for us,” said Interim Transit Director Michael Staley. “It’s going to help us retain the drivers we have, and it’s going to be a tremendous boost to our recruitment efforts. The one thing we’ve heard consistently from drivers and transit advocates is that we needed to increase bus driver pay. We have said we would because our drivers deserve it, and now we have.”
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 President Schetrone Collier said he appreciates the administration’s willingness to offer a significant wage increase to his members a year and a half before the current contract expires.
“This is a great day for DDOT. I drove for DDOT for 34 years and know how important this wage increase is for our drivers,” said Collier. “But this is just as much for the public as it is our drivers. This increase will help us hire and retain more drivers so the public can know when they are at a stop and need to get to work or the doctor, DDOT, is going to show up when we are supposed to. That’s everyone’s goal.”
