Union Rejects RTD Bid to Reopen Pact Over Absenteeism

The head of the Southern California Rapid Transit District bus drivers’ union Thursday flatly rejected a management proposal to reopen contract negotiations to reduce the loss of millions of dollars because of excessive driver absenteeism.

Meanwhile, it appears from state motor vehicle records that RTD drivers have had about the same proportion of major violations on their driving records as the public at large.

A Times analysis of RTD drivers’ overall records shows that 2.8% of RTD drivers had convictions over the past three years for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, reckless driving or hit and run. That is virtually identical to the average of all drivers’ overall records in the state, according to Ray Peck, chief of research for the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

On the absenteeism issue, union chief Earl Clark said there is nothing that would persuade him to renegotiate the current labor agreement with the district.

“Every provision of the contract stays in effect. If they want changes, they’ll have to do it over the bargaining table in 1988” when the current pact expires, Clark said.

Clark’s comments came outside an RTD board meeting where district General Manager John Dyer was instructed to seek work rule changes that would reduce the district’s newly revealed $23.9-million annual loss due to absenteeism among bus drivers and maintenance employees.

A study released this week by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission shows that 20% of the district’s bus drivers average 81 days of unscheduled absences a year. Overall, the study found that drivers average 32 days of absences, not including vacation, holidays, military leave and training. Mechanics and other maintenance employees averaged 20 to 30 days of such absences, according to the study.

The audit found that RTD disciplinary procedures are not as severe as those at other large transit systems in the country. Absenteeism may even be encouraged by liberal contract provisions allowing drivers to volunteer for premium pay overtime shifts after they have taken a regular day off with pay, according to the audit.

Some RTD board members seemed stunned by the absenteeism figures.

“This boggles my mind,” said board member Nikolas Patsaouras.

Citing union claims that absenteeism is high because drivers are forced to work too many days, Patsaouras said, “Who is going to convince me that a man who misses 81 days is overworked?”

Clark told the board that it should concentrate on hiring more drivers. But he still refused to budge on the contract talks after the board accepted a special $690,000 grant from county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn’s district transportation fund to hire an additional 25 drivers. Hahn offered to match that grant with a similar amount if the union and management can agree to new anti-absenteeism rules.

Dyer told the board that if absenteeism among the worst 20% of the drivers could be cut in half, an additional 200 bus drivers would be available each day.

More Than Needed

“We would not have a shortage of drivers,” he said. “We would have an overabundance.”

In other action, the board accepted an updated report on license problems among drivers. About 25 drivers or 0.5% have been suspended for having invalid or improper licenses, the report said. The district is still checking on 37 other drivers’ records.

District officials said they still do not know how many drivers may have actually been driving without proper credentials before recent investigations and checks of drivers’ licenses began.

Also, about one out of nine RTD drivers, rather than one out of 10 reported Thursday, have been convicted of on-duty traffic violations in the past three years, according to records released by the district.

Times researcher Cecilia Rasmussen contributed to this story.