George Thrower is used to change.

Thrower, a bus driver for the RTC system for 24 years, has seen a lot of changes in the Reno-Sparks area. And while the new development and management has come and gone, Thrower has some changes of his own now.

As the elected human rights coordinator for Teamster Union Local 533, Thrower has been part of the ongoing negotiations between Transit Management of Washoe, Inc., which manages the RTC RIDE bus system, and the union members, discussing changes in work policy.

On May 15, these changes were addressed during a federal mediated talk between RTC Ride and the union.

"We're (RTC workers) the step-children of this company," Thower said. "We, the operators, make the system work, we deal with the public, we promote the best interest of the company and they don't pay us as such."

Thrower, although frustrated with the stalled efforts of increasing pension pay and benefits, is perhaps most concerned regarding the bus scheduling of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a normal weekday instead of a full holiday

TMW manager, Mike Steel, called in federal mediator Jerry Allen, who was present before during the 2002 negotiations, to try to ease the process.

"Our number one goal is to have each party come to an agreement," Steel said. "The mediator helps relay the issues to each side."

At the meeting, wages, pensions and health insurance were the primary economic issues, Steel said. While the union is proposing a 30-percent wage increase, budget constraints are limiting TMW’s offer to a 6.5-percent increase.

"They (union members) have to recognize the economic conditions of this area," Steel said. "I have to be mindful (of the budget)."

As of right now, the union members and TMW have not resolved several issues that were discussed at last week's meeting, including the topic of MLK Day scheduling.

While the union, which is proposing to run the holiday at a Sunday holiday schedule, meaning fewer busses and fewer available bus routes, TMW said the ridership on that day is high enough to demand a regular weekday schedule.

"We ran Martin Luther King Day before on a Saturday schedule, which is less service than a workday," said Felicia Archer, public information officer at RTC, "but we had to keep adding extra buses because of more riders."

In August of 2006, MLK Day was switched from a Saturday schedule to a regular work day schedule, Archer said.

This is a scheduling issue that has to be brought with the RTC board committee, Steel said

"Martin Luther King Day is still an open issue," Steel said. "I do not have the authority to do that."

Thrower, however, is not discouraged and will continue to fight. MLK Day is an important day to him because of his African American heritage, Thrower said.

"Martin Luther King Day is a special day," Thrower said. "And it's not being treated the way it's supposed to be treated. What kind of message is that sending to the employees?"

The three-year contract between the union and TMW ends on June 12. The two groups will meet again on June 7 to discuss the contract renewal.