The Region - News from Dec. 18, 1986

More bus drivers crossed their union’s picket line following an ultimatum to return to work by Monday or lose their jobs, but labor leaders and officials of the Orange County Transit District quarreled over the actual number of strikebreakers. An OCTD spokeswoman said 14 more drivers got behind the wheel, raising the number of workers ignoring the picket line to 26 in the 10th day of the strike. But the head of the Tustin-based United Transportation Union Local 19 said only six of the district’s 732 drivers crossed the picket line. No new contract talks are scheduled. The walkout started Dec. 8 when union members rejected the OCTD’s final offer--a 7.5% wage hike over 3 1/2 years, proposals for mandatory drug testing before license renewal, increased use of part-time drivers, tighter discipline for unexcused absences and contracting of services and routes to private firms.