MARTA frontline employees to get $3,500 bonus for work during pandemic

ATLANTA — All MARTA frontline employees will receive a $3,500 bonus for their work during the pandemic, pending approval by the board.

MARTA officials announced the bonuses Friday. They will go to all frontline and represented employees, including bus and rail operators, mechanics and supervisors and members of the MARTA Police Department with the rank of major and below.

“I am extremely grateful to our frontline employees who have carried us through this pandemic,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker. “These are people who could not work from home, who showed up every day to keep the buses and trains running and protect our customers, all while considering the health risks to themselves and their families.”

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In addition to the one-time payment, all of MARTA’s 2,811 employees represented by the transit unit will get a 2% general wage increase next February.

Close to three-fourths of MARTA’s staff will receive the one-time payment at a cost to the Authority of approximately $13 million. The money will be drawn from a budget surplus that includes the federal pandemic relief included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“With the supportive vote of the Business Management Committee this week, I am confident the board of directors will support this payment when it comes before us in May,” said MARTA Board Chair Rita Scott. “Our frontline employees are the backbone of this organization and on behalf of my fellow board members, I want to thank our frontline workers for continuing to provide essential transit service and ensuring our patrons are safe during one of the most difficult periods in recent history.”

If the board approves the bonuses at its meeting on May 13, checks will be distributed on May 27.

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