Sun Tran bus drivers overwhelmingly approve strike authorization

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Sun Tran drivers have voted to authorize a strike.

According to a release from Teamsters Local 104, 99.9% of the union members voted yes on Sunday, June 7. The vote only authorizes a strike and does not mean there will be an immediate work stoppage.

“A 99% yes vote is not just a statistic; it is a mandate,” the Local 104 said in a release. “It reflects the frustration and determination of the workers who keep Tucson moving every single day.”

The union’s current five-year contract ends on June 30, and negotiations are ongoing.

One of the biggest points of contention has been driver and rider safety.

13 News spoke to passengers who rely on Sun Tran to get around Tucson.

Joshua Milnes works in downtown Tucson and relies on Sun Tran buses to get to work because he cannot drive.

“Some people (have) no car. I got no car,” Milnes said.

If a strike happens, riders could find that most Sun Tran buses will be off the road and most routes will not be serviced. That would cause an inconvenience for passengers like Nick Crawford, who volunteers at a local food bank.

“It’s going to be a big impact, because I would have to find another way to get to the food bank,” Crawford said.

Despite the challenges a potential strike would cause, Crawford said she thinks it’s worth it.

“I do agree with them because they need to do something about all the violence on all the buses,” Crawford said. “I feel like something is going to happen bad on the bus one of these days. It’s going to be something bad, if they don’t fix it.”

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Sun Tran said they will try to maintain services for the community if a work stoppage occurs. The local union wants to avoid the stoppage as much as possible.

“We want to reach an agreement that avoids a disruption in service for the people of Tucson,” Local 104 representative Mike Sanchez said on Monday. “However, the ball is not in the company’s court. Their future actions and their seriousness at the bargaining table will determine what happens after June 20.”

13 News reached out to Sun Tran, and the company confirmed it is aware of Sunday’s vote.

“While the strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean a strike will occur, Sun Tran is evaluating all available options to maintain transit service for the community should a work stoppage occur,” Sun Tran General Manager C. Mikel Oglesby said in a release. “Sun Tran looks forward to returning to the negotiation table on June 21, and we remain optimistic that both parties can reach a mutually beneficial agreement before the current contract expires on June 30.”

Oglesby said Sun Tran is “committed to providing safe, reliable, and accessible public transportation. In partnership with the city of Tucson, Sun Tran has developed and is implementing a comprehensive Transit Safety and Security Action Plan based on input from the Teamsters leadership, transit operators, transit riders, Tucson Transit Advisory Committee (TTAC), and community members.”

More than $2 million has been allocated to increase security, and that includes transit ambassadors, more off-duty police officers, and more security guards from a third party. It will also pay for cleaning up bus stops, more barriers on buses to protect drivers, and possibly new cameras on buses and bus stops.

The investment will be brought up during the Tucson City Council’s study session at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The agenda item will be discussed around 3 p.m. While 13 News will be there to report on the project, you can watch the study session live at https://www.youtube.com/@cityoftucson/live

For years, 13 News has reported on the issue of public transit and safety. In fact, the last strike happened in 2015 and lasted for 42 days. One of the big sticking points in the stoppage was indeed driver safety.

Since April 5, 2025, 13 News has reported on at least 19 violent crimes connected to public transit in Tucson. One person has died in the attacks, and several have suffered life-changing injuries. Most of the incidents involved a suspect with a hatchet or knife.

VIOLENT INCIDENTS CONNECTED TO SUN TRAN

• On April 5, 2025, 25-year-old Daniel Michael Jr. attacked a man and a woman with a hatchet at a Sun Link streetcar stop in downtown Tucson. Jacob Couch died from his injuries, and Michael was charged with murder.
• On May 12, 2025, 42-year-old Frank Rick Lopez allegedly attacked two people with a hatchet at a Sun Tran bus stop near Sabino Canyon and Tanque Verde Roads.
• On July 9, 2025, a 15-year-old was arrested after a 19-year-old woman was injured during a knife fight on a bus at the Ronstadt Center in Tucson.
• On July 25, 2025, a man was injured when a woman attacked him with a knife at the Laos Transit Center.
• On Aug. 11, 2025, a man was injured in a stabbing at the Ronstadt Center in downtown Tucson.
• On Aug. 12, 2025, a man was injured in a fight and stabbing at the Laos Transit Center in Tucson.
• On Aug. 19, 2025, a man was injured in a fight and stabbing at the Tohono Tadai Transit Center near the Tucson Mall.
• On Sept. 9, 2025, Sun Tran driver Jose Rodriguez was injured in an assault at Udall Park in Tucson.
• On Oct. 6, 2025, an elderly man was injured in an assault at a Sun Tran bus stop near Pantano and Stella in Tucson.
• On Oct. 14, 2025, a man was arrested after allegedly firing a gun on a Sun Tran bus near Irvington and 13th Avenue in Tucson.
• On Nov. 30, 2025, a man was arrested on an attempted murder charge following a violent attack at the Laos Transit Center in Tucson.
• On Dec. 24, 2025, a man was arrested after being accused of stabbing someone on a Sun Tran bus at least 12 times.
• On Jan. 26, 2026, a man was injured in an assault at a bus stop at Broadway and Kolb in Tucson.
• On Feb. 10, 2026, a man was stabbed during an aggravated assault at the Ronstadt Transit Center.
• On Feb. 24, 2026, authorities responded to a fight at the Sun Tran bus stop at South 6th Avenue and West 44th Street.
• On Feb. 27, 2026, an armed man was arrested after a fight on a Sun Tran bus near Main and Speedway in Tucson.
• On March 4, 2026, a man was arrested after stabbing another man at the Tohono Tadai Transit Center near the Tucson Mall.
• On April 3, 2026, a person was injured in a stabbing at the Ronstadt Center in downtown Tucson.
• On June 4, 2026, one man was arrested, and another was injured in a fight on a Sun Tran bus in downtown Tucson.

In 2020, the city of Tucson suspended transit fares due to the pandemic.

Many point to the free fares as a reason for an apparent uptick in violence, and a common complaint is that the lack of fares attracts open drug use and violent members of the community.

In October 2025, a Sun Tran survey showed a large portion of riders and drivers simply do not feel safe.

Despite strong pushback from some city leaders (mainly councilpersons Paul Cunningham and Nikki Lee), community groups like the Tucson Crime Free Coalition and Sun Tran drivers, the city has refused to start charging fares.

Tucson has invested $500,000 to address growing concerns regarding crime, substance use, and passenger safety at bus stops.

Some of that money was used to pay for more patrols by police officers. Other parts went to upgrading lighting and clearing obstructions at bus stops. Eventually, the city wants to link all bus cameras to a real-time safety center to help respond more quickly to incidents.

But the moves may not be enough to avoid a work stoppage.

While the city of Tucson owns Sun Tran, it is run by a private company called RATP Dev USA.

RATP Dev, the parent company of RATP Dev USA, manages transit systems in 16 countries across the world and is based in France.

Thousands of Tucsonans who rely on public transit could face a major disruption if drivers do end up striking at the end of the month.

Last week, Sanchez told 13 News’ Payton May that the union has been in active negotiations with management and hopes to agree on new terms.

“We’ll be prepared for our membership if Sun Tran chose not to continue negotiations or if things don’t go well, and that’s our recourse,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez could not share the specifics of negotiations but said the focus remains on safety.

“Whether fares can, you know, stop some of the problems that are out there, that’s not for us to determine, that’s for the city to determine,” Sanchez said. “But we do have expectations that I just listed related to our members at Sun Tran.”

The union has been in active negotiations with Sun Tran management and hopes to reach an agreement, but felt a strike authorization vote was warranted at this time.

Sanchez said a strike authorization vote is largely procedural, meaning union members are open to striking if a contract deal isn’t reached. He said a strike is not the union’s end goal, but that member safety is the top priority.

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