RTD Reaches Accord With Last Union

Negotiators for the Southern California Rapid Transit District and its 1,800 bus mechanics and maintenance workers, whose earlier agreement had collapsed in acrimony, reached a new settlement Wednesday that could remove a final strike threat to RTD bus riders.

Ratification of the agreement by union members and the RTD board would mean that, for the first time since 1969, the district had renegotiated contracts with its three major labor unions without a walkout. Details of the tentative contract were not disclosed.

“We negotiated an agreement that will increase and boost productivity and cut costs,” said RTD President Nikolas Patsaouras. “In return, we were able to afford moderate wage and fringe benefit increases for our employees.”

The settlement would eliminate the last threat of a bus strike for the district’s 1.1 million daily riders. Bus drivers and clerks settled their contract negotiations earlier.

Jerome C. Long, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1277, said his membership of RTD mechanics and maintenance workers will review the tentative pact on Sunday and take a ratification vote on Monday.

“I feel very sure that our membership will approve this tentative agreement,” said Long, who had held out the possibility of a strike if no accord was reached.

Two months ago, both sides had announced a tentative agreement, only to see it unravel in a last-minute dispute over interpretation of a cost-of-living clause in the contract. The unexpected snag prompted Long to accuse the RTD of “welshing” on the pact.

But on Wednesday, Long blamed the snafu on a misunderstanding caused by weary bargainers exhausted by the lengthy negotiating sessions.

“We are positive on every line, every word, every item (of this contract). . . ,” Long said.

“This time, both sides have a clear understanding of every clause in the new contract,” Patsaouras added. “We’re in total agreement.”

Union members now make an average of $13.96 an hour. And although he refused to discuss details, Patsaouras said the financial cost of the package fell within the board’s budgetary guidelines.

Under their new settlements, bus drivers and clerks will receive an average 4.5% increase--over their last contract--in wages and fringe benefits for each of the next three years, RTD officials said.

Patsaouras said he is optimistic that the RTD board will ratify the “long-term” accord.

Earlier Settlements

The United Transportation Union, representing 5,000 bus drivers, had agreed earlier to a 41-month contract, and the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, representing 740 clerical workers and ticket takers, settled on a 39-month agreement.

With RTD bus riders forced to endure five strikes in the last 13 years, Mayor Tom Bradley told union and RTD negotiators that the settlement is welcome news. “I know the people out there who ride those buses are going to join with me and say ‘hallelujah,’ ” Bradley said.