AP News, July 7th, 2007
Bus drivers in a suburban Los Angeles county went on strike early Saturday after the union representing them and the bus agency failed to agree on a new contract.
The strike means about 50 of more than 80 Orange County Transportation Authority bus routes will not be running, promising to create headaches for more than 200,000 people who use the system.
Contract talks stalled Friday night after transit agency negotiators said they did not have the authority to increase their offer without board approval. The agency's board is not scheduled to meet until Monday.
Picket lines had gone up and buses were being parked, said Patrick Kelly, the secretary-president of Teamsters Local 952.
The two sides were apparently only 1 percentage point apart on a wage increase. But last-minute wrangling over the financing of drivers' pensions had also emerged as a sticking point, said Kelly.
The drivers want a 14 percent pay raise over three years, arguing Orange County is one of the most expensive places to live in California. Drivers currently make between $13.72 to $21.42 an hour.
Beyond just the wage increase, a sticking point has been which drivers will benefit most.
Labor leaders want to concentrate raises among more senior drivers to reward service. The OCTA, hoping to improve recruiting, wants to spread the raises evenly and give a greater portion to those lower on the seniority scale.
The contract expired April 30 and about 95 percent of the 1,100 drivers voted in May to authorize a strike for the first time since 1986.
At the behest of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a judge ordered a 60-day cooling-off period, which expired at midnight Friday.
Buses still running Saturday would be driven by contract employees who operate the agency's van service for disabled people and fixed-route "community" lines, along with bus lines serving Metrolink stations, said agency spokesman Joel Zlotnik.
