The University of Texas shuttle bus service was started by Transportation Enterprises, Inc. (TEI) in 1969. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local Division 1549 was formed in 1972 when University of Texas shuttle bus drivers came together to demand that TEI bargain with them over work assignments, safety and pay. The new contract gave the drivers the right to have a grievance and arbitration procedure, the right to bid for a regular day shift and the right to refuse to drive a bus if it was believed that its condition may risk the health or safety of any person. Through the years the University of Texas shuttle bus service has been run by several management companies such as TEI, ARA, Travelways, Laidlaw, DAVE and ATC/Vancom. Originally UT contracted directly with the private company to run the shuttle bus system but in 1988 the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) won the bid and Capital Metro then subcontracts to a private company. This additional layer of management made it more difficult for ATU #1549 to negotiate for the shuttle bus drivers.
For much of the 1990s and early 2000s the shuttle drivers were in a labor dispute that stemmed from the UT shuttle drivers' demands for fair wages and benefits. The basis for the dispute was that while shuttle drivers and regular city bus drivers drive the same buses Capital Metro pays the regular city bus drivers more money and they have a more attractive benefits package. In 2002 the union filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor claiming ATC/Vancom has created downtime between driver shifts as a way to avoid paying a portion of drivers' hourly wage, in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
ATU Local Division 1549 was terminated in the fall of 2006 when it merged with ATU Local Division 1091.
From the guide to the Amalgamated Transit Union Local Division #1549 Records AR. 2010. 005., 1996-2006, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, )
