Local 1765 Secures Strong Contract with Intercity After Six-Month Battle
After six months of grueling negotiations, Local 1765-Olympia, WA, secured a strong contract with Intercity Transit—a hard-won victory shaped by member participation, resilience, and strategic organizing.
Leadership Rebuilds a Struggling Local
When Executive Officers, including President/Business Agent Mark Neuville and Financial Secretary Kierstin Price, were elected two and a half years ago, they inherited a struggling Local: minimal participation, looming debt, and the threat of losing tax-exempt status. With diligence, they stabilized finances, revived engagement, and built collaborative structures such as Joint Labor-Management and Safety Committees.
Their first challenge was Grays Harbor negotiations, where a newly active contract had taken three years to finalize and a failed arbitration. Focusing on six key issues, the team secured 95% ratification, setting a tone of solution-oriented engagement that continues today.
A major force in Washington’s transit labor landscape is Summit Law, an anti-union firm representing several agencies. Their approach often results in contracts that meet only the legal minimum while fostering poor working conditions. Intercity’s use of Summit Law delayed
bargaining and sought to pressure members into a substandard deal. Local 1765 resisted, filing an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) over deceptive tactics; the case remains pending.
Members at the Heart of the Fight
The Local’s true strength was its members. Open bargaining, a 12-member committee, and an active Contract Action Committee—with strong support from ATU’s Michael Haggard and IVP Michael Cornelius—kept negotiations grounded in transparency and solidarity. As Neuville notes, unity is key: “Consensus is the glue that keeps membership focused on the goal.”
Despite progress, the employer retaliated harshly, firing three Executive Board and bargaining team members, including Price, Recording Secretary Alena Parisi, and Jeremy Smith. A communications team member was threatened with termination, but has since been reinstated; Smith resigned, but the Local is fighting to restore Price and Parisi through ongoing legal action.
A New Generation Leads the Way Forward
Revitalization efforts have paid off. New members are staffing Shop Steward, Safety, Bargaining, and Communications Committees. The Local is now developing Governmental Affairs and Medical Committees to further strengthen representation. The increased participation has spurred engagement with the Central Labor Council and State AFL-CIO. Local 1765 expanded its support base by encouraging younger members, who, in particular, became the core of the Contract Action Team—an energized group that built solidarity and countered disengaged critics.
Through persistence and collective action, Local 1765 not only secured a deal but rebuilt the Union’s core: an engaged, empowered membership.