DART avoids paratransit strike during World Cup after contractor settles with union

DART has avoided a strike by paratransit workers after its provider company reached an agreement with union representatives.

Outside of DART headquarters Tuesday evening, union organizers with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1338 and ATU International said that a three-year agreement had been struck “at the last minute” earlier that day. Without the deal, a strike would have taken effect Wednesday morning, they said. Paratransit services provide point-to-point service for disabled and mobility-challenged residents who cannot use standard DART services, such as light rail and bus routes. 

ATU representatives have been in discussions with DART’s contracted paratransit provider, Transdev, since last year. A strike had been authorized in 2025 but was called off on the promise of further negotiations. After those negotiations proved unfruitful, paratransit workers voted 160-1 on June 1 to authorize a strike. Talks progressed over the weekend to avoid walkouts.

“We told the company, ‘Look, we’re on the time schedule. We’re not here to play games. If we don’t get it done, we’re just going to keep moving on,'” Stanley Smalls, a senior organizer with ATU International, said.

Smalls added that the talks on Saturday felt like a “turning point.”

The main disagreements came from concerns over wages and healthcare benefits. Organizers said the plans available to paratransit employees forced them to pay more than 70% of their healthcare costs while earning $19.25 an hour. Under the three-year agreement, wages will rise to $22.30 an hour, and workers will be responsible for less than half of their healthcare costs, Smalls said.

“A lot of it was cut down to 40% employees cost, which is not the greatest, but it’s better than what they were paying,” Smalls said. “With the new wage increase, our employees can literally afford some health care now.”

He added that the union did not get everything it had hoped for, including more sick days, but was satisfied with the wage and benefit increases. Wages will be revisited during yearly talks under the agreement.

Transdev was awarded a $600 million, eight-year contract to provide paratransit services in DART’s 13 member cities in 2024 (the number is now 12 cities with the withdrawal of Highland Park). In a release announcing the procurement, DART noted that there are “approximately 11,000 riders certified to use Paratransit services and with Microtransit ridership of over 886,000 in fiscal year 2023.” 

Smalls said “it feels good” after reaching a settlement with the company, but added that the situation could have been avoided.

“The only disappointing side about it is that we left passages in limbo,” he said. “I don’t like that, because people depend on the service, and when they have to wake up every day to ask the question, ‘ Is my service going to be running tomorrow?’ Shame on the powers that be.”