Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 382, approved a three-year labor contract with the Utah Transit Authority late Wednesday.

The contract was approved by a 2-to-1 ratio, said Loren Simpson, UTA manager of labor relations. It includes provisions about health care, wages and the working conditions of 1,200 UTA employees who are represented by the union.

UTA has 1,700 total employees.

"We are very pleased with the outcome," Simpson said Thursday. "I think the vote suggests that the employees agreed with the negotiating team that this is fair, responsible and a good contract."

Under the contract, union workers will receive a 10 percent pay increase, or an average hike of $1.77 per hour, over the next three years. The agreement also states that UTA union members will be able to fill most of the operations and maintenance jobs from the FrontRunner commuter rail system, now under construction.

The first phase of commuter rail is scheduled to open in early 2008. It will stretch 44 miles from Salt Lake City to Pleasant View in Weber County. Eventually, UTA wants to extend the rail line north to Brigham City in Box Elder County and south to Payson in Utah County.

The first phase will create about 114 new jobs at UTA, said Bob Baty, president of the ATU, Local 382.

"We'll keep most of those positions in-house," Baty said Thursday. "It's good for the employees. It gives them lateral and upward movement."

UTA and the union began contract negotiations in May. The union's previous contract with UTA was scheduled to expire on Dec. 10, but both parties said they agreed to finalize negotiations early to meet deadlines to train workers for commuter rail.

UTA already has hired a woman to begin looking for, and training, commuter rail employees.

Other key components of the contract include a provision to give new operators more notice about their work schedules. New operators start out as part of an "extra board," where they fill empty shifts. Typically, they are given only a day's notice about where and what time they will be driving, Baty said. The time can range from an early morning shift to a late-night route.

The new contract allows the operators to pick a time frame when they can work, instead of the varied day and night shifts. "That way they have a life outside of UTA," Baty said.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com