Armored Car Drivers, Firm Settle Strike

About 400 armored car drivers throughout California settled Friday their strike against Armored Transport of California Inc., although the two sides have not formally agreed to a new contract.

Spokesmen for the Los Angeles-based company and the union, the Cash and Securities Handlers Assn., said the strikers will return to work Monday.

The drivers struck Nov. 25, protesting cuts in wages and benefits.

Nick Scarpelli, a union spokesman, said Friday that the employees had “won back” benefits that the company had taken away last month, including sick days, holidays, a guaranteed eight-hour work day and overtime pay after working 40 hours in a week.

Drivers based in Oakland, Sacramento, San Bernardino and Ventura also regained wage levels that had been cut 10%. Their pay rate is $9.50 to $10 an hour for veteran employees and $7.50 an hour for new employees.

8% Pay Cut

However, the drivers in Los Angeles agreed to an 8% pay cut Friday.

In November, Robert Irvin, the company president, had lowered the wages of veteran drivers in Los Angeles from $12.61 to $11.34 an hour. Friday’s settlement sets their pay rate at $11.50 an hour, Irvin said.

The union has alleged that the company violated the National Labor Relations Act by unilaterally imposing changes in wages and working conditions last month. Those charges are pending, Scarpelli said.

Irvin and Scarpelli said the two sides would begin to bargain on a formal contract after Jan. 1.

“Everything is open for negotiation,” Irvin said. “We’ve lost an awful lot of business. There’s no way we can have an intelligent negotiation on the real basic economics until after we’ve had an accounting.”

He said the company, one of the state’s three largest armored transport firms, had lost business it had with department stores, such as Bullocks, May Co. and Robinsons, and with several supermarket chains. Irvin said he did not have “the faintest idea” whether the company will be able to regain those accounts.