Strike Defended; Riders Caught by Surprise : Effects Felt in Schools, Workplace

The unannounced strike Monday of Orange County Transit District bus drivers caught many riders unaware, leaving thousands stranded at stops for coaches that were few and far between, if they arrived at all.

Schoolchildren, the elderly, those without automobiles and the disabled were left to fend for themselves as the workweek got under way.

Although some buses were operated and the strike directly affected only about 3% of the county’s daily commuters, in many cases the work stoppage caused a rippling effect throughout the workplace, shopping centers, schools and health agencies.

“From Long Beach to South Laguna, people are screaming. Their housekeepers are not there,” said Lupe McKnight, owner of National Domestic Agency, a Huntington Beach employment firm that matches domestic workers to those who need maids and baby sitters.

“These are professional people who rely on them (the domestic workers) so they can go to work,” she asked. “Who’s going to take care of their children?”

Of those who ride OCTD buses--there are an average of 112,474 boardings a day--10% are at least 65 years old, 8% are under 16 and 39% are between 22 and 34, district spokeswoman Claudia Keith said. Nearly half the riders--46%--use buses to get to work, while 26% ride to school, 10% to shopping and 18% for other purposes such as recreational, medical, personal business.

Cars Not Available

About 74% of OCTD’s riders neither own nor have available to them automobiles for commuting, Keith said.

Maria Elena Garcia, 40, and Martha Quetzal, 21, were two OCTD riders who waited more than an hour Monday morning on Camino Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano for the 91 bus to take them to work in Mission Viejo. Finally, about 9 a.m., a man drove up and told them about the strike.

“I’d better call my boss--I was supposed to be there at 8,” said Quetzal, a cashier at Montgomery Ward.

Dial-a-Ride Calls

“I’ll take the day off,” said Garcia, a maid, turning to head for home. “I have no other choice.”

OCTD’s Keith said callers were encouraged Monday to call the district’s dial-a-ride, which was “fully staffed and ready and on call.” The dial-a-ride service is provided by private firms contracted by the OCTD to supply drivers. They are unaffected by the strike.

However, OCTD had received about 1,500 calls for the dial-a-ride service by midday Monday, by which time it usually gets 1,000, and callers were advised to call back in about an hour. The wait for rides had increased to about 90 minutes, compared to the normal 30 minutes.

OCTD also had about twice the usual number of inquiries from those interested in car pools. The district matches callers within 24 hours of a request with others who want to share driving duties, Keith said.

Many employers reported little or no effect from the strike.

At AST Research of Irvine, a maker of personal computer and electronics components, the strike had no significant effect on the 600 employees, most of whom “own their cars or ride in car pools,” a spokesman said.

But about half the 45 employees were late for work at American Polyvinyl in Santa Ana, a manufacturer of plastic products. And at Fireplace Manufacturers Inc. in Santa Ana, where about 20% of 120 employees depend on bus service, 12 were late and three never showed up because of the strike, said President Bill Harris. Several employees at Ted Lee, a Santa Ana clothing manufacturer, arrived late to work, a spokeswoman said.

But for every person who was late, there were many who were not.

At Sears in Laguna Hills, only two of the store’s 500 employees showed up late, and at the May Co. in Mission Viejo it was business as usual, said General Manager Ken Heinrich, who was unaware of the strike.

Clinic Patients Fewer

People who rely on other public services as well as the buses were hit hard.

Immunization, venereal disease and mental health clinics reported a 20% decline in patients Monday, said Tom Uram, director of the Orange County Health Care Agency. Mental health group sessions later in the week may be harder hit, he said, because as many as “50% of them use the bus services. It could have a big impact.”

The strike prevented many from getting to relief work programs, said Teresa Bradley, an employee services specialist with the Orange County Social Services Agency. About 10% of 116 clients working under the agency’s relief program were absent Monday, she said.

Aid recipients unable to get to work will not be penalized, said Wayne Warner, employment services program manager. Should the strike last several days, “we might have to be a little more creative and find a means for clients to get back and forth,” he said.

Connie Genter, who operates four residential programs for the developmentally disabled in Westminster and Midway City, said: “We had to transport some of them to work, and a couple didn’t go to work. We can’t leave them . . . without supervision to take one or two to work. They are all developmentally disabled so they don’t understand why the bus drivers are striking and why they can’t go to work.”

Commuters Surprised

To many if not most Monday-morning commuters, the strike came as a complete surprise, even a shock.

“I heard something about it but I didn’t know it would start today,” said David Reyes, 25, of Santa Ana, waiting at a bus stop to take him to work at a muffler shop in Orange. “I’m going to have to call my job, but I think I’m going to get fired if I don’t get there on time.”

At 8:55 a.m., Jennifer Perry, 19, a telephone operator, was waiting on a bench in Brea where the 8:30 Brea Boulevard bus normally stops for her.

“I’ve been sitting here since 8:10,” she said. “Some man was walking down the street and said he missed two buses. So now I’m waiting for a friend.

“That’s my only transportation, a bus. I work all the way in Anaheim.”

Vernon Thomas, 22, of Buena Park, learned about the strike from a reporter a few minutes later.

“You’re kidding?” said a dejected Thomas, who was sitting on a bus bench at Harbor Boulevard and North Berkeley Avenue in Fullerton. “I’ve been waiting about 15 minutes.

“I guess I’m going to have to call my mother. I thought Orange County bus drivers were happy. My fiancee said they were happy. She rides it every day.”

Notice Posted

As Thomas left to find a telephone booth, a woman from OCTD arrived--by car--to tape a notice on the kiosk announcing: “OCTD will be offering limited bus service on 13 of its routes during a work stoppage that began today.”

At a bus stop on Euclid Avenue in Garden Grove, Pierre Andrada, 16, of Fountain Valley was still waiting at 9 a.m. for a bus to take him to Garden Grove High School. His algebra class had already begun, and he had been waiting 30 minutes. “I can’t believe this is happening to me,” Andrada fretted. “I don’t like to miss classes.”

Most riders stranded at the OCTD terminal in downtown Santa Ana on Monday morning knew only that they had no way to get to work. About 10 people lined up at the information window, trying to figure an alternate way to reach their destinations by using the 13 routes still in service. Others clustered around a phone bank calling work, school and relatives.

Times staff writers Juan Arancibia, Steve Emmons, Lily Eng, Jeffrey A. Perlman, Bob Schwartz, Leonel Sanchez and Nancy Wride contributed to this story.

Thousands of Orange County bus riders were stranded by the unexpected strike by OCTD drivers. Story in Part I, Page 1.