Bus Drivers Reject OCTD Offer, Vote to Go on Strike

Disgruntled Orange County Transit District bus drivers voted overwhelmingly late Sunday night to go on strike beginning at 12:01 this morning, rejecting management’s final contract offer.

About 480 drivers voted to walk out, while some 120 favored accepting the contract offer. A two-thirds vote was required to authorize a strike.

OCTD officials, who could not be reached for comment immediately after the vote, have said that they would try to provide service for the county’s 110,000 regular bus riders.

To avoid stranding thousands of riders, contingency plans were being made in the event that the 732 bus drivers walk out, OCTD spokeswoman Joanne Curran said. She said those plans include having buses driven by supervisors promoted from the drivers’ ranks--who still have valid Class II California licenses--if an adequate number of drivers do not show up for work starting at 4 a.m. today.

Hoping for a Call

“I’m hoping to get a call at least sometime before midnight so I know if I have to show up at the office at 5 in the morning,” Curran said with a chuckle before the strike vote Sunday night. “I was smart enough not to get my Class II license.”

A telephone hot line to provide bus riders with car-pool information was to be provided by OCTD, Curran said, but details had not been released.

The extent and frequency of service will, in part, depend on how many drivers choose to cross union picket lines, Curran said. But, she added, “we will make every attempt to provide at least a minimum level of service. . . .”

Juliene Smith, general chairman of United Transportation Union Local 19, could not be reached late Sunday for comment.

Negotiations ended Thursday between OCTD officials and the union. Terms of the proposed three-year contract have not been disclosed, and both sides had refused to say whether union leaders would recommend acceptance or rejection of the proposal.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said some drivers had threatened to hold a no-confidence vote against the union if it proceeded with plans to recommend acceptance of the latest contract offer.

The only strike in OCTD’s 14-year history was in 1981, when bus drivers staged a 22-day walkout. All buses were grounded, but few problems were reported by commuters or their employers, with most saying that people found other ways to get to work, including car pools or their own vehicles. The 1981 strike was followed by an increase in ridership, despite a 50% fare hike.

Curran said people can call the OCTD’s regular information line ---- (714) 636-RIDE ---- for updated bus schedules and route information following the contract vote.