RTD, Drivers Union Reach Tentative Pact

A tentative contract agreement was reached early today between the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the labor union representing 5,000 RTD bus drivers, reducing the likelihood of a threatened bus strike next week.

Weary negotiators for the RTD and the United Transportation Union refused to comment on the settlement as they left the Pasadena Hilton at 5:30 a.m. after two days of intense bargaining.

But RTD President Nikolas Patsaouras told The Times later that the RTD and its largest labor union had struck a deal that--if approved by rank-and-file members and the district’s board of directors--would avert a walkout by bus drivers and ensure that bus service would not be interrupted for the RTD’s 1.1 million daily riders.

RTD ‘Very Pleased’

“We have a tentative agreement, and we’re very pleased,” said Patsaouras, who added that a news conference has been scheduled to announce the settlement.

Appearing at the news conference with Patsaouras will be Earl Clark, the union’s general chairman, who was the chief negotiator for the bus drivers. Clark and other union officials declined to talk about the agreement in advance of the formal announcement.

After a breakdown in contract talks last February, union drivers had voted overwhelmingly to walk off their jobs for the sixth time in 13 years. But a court order delayed a strike for 60 days. That “cooling off period” is to end at midnight Sunday.

Both union and RTD negotiators had announced last week that they were close to an agreement and had already settled on a wage-and-benefits package. But the final bargaining sessions, intended to resolve remaining “minor differences,” stretched into a grueling round of intense talks.

Within Guidelines

Although details of the pact could not be learned, Patsaouras said the wage-and-benefits package is “within the budgetary guidelines of the board.” In the past, those guidelines have included a 5% cap over the cost of the current labor contract.

RTD drivers, who at present make an average hourly wage of $11.97 and a top wage of $12.79, had been seeking a 4% annual raise as well as cost-of-living adjustments. The union also sought to maintain the current level of health benefits.

In addition, the two sides have been wrestling with about two-dozen issues ranging from proposed changes in disciplinary procedures, work rules and rest periods for drivers to the use of part-time RTD drivers.