The State - News from Feb. 1, 1988

Striking bus drivers in San Francisco voted 138 to 38 to ratify a new contract, ending a nine-day walkout that slowed rush-hour traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The settlement will mean a 5% pay raise over two years for members of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which helps transport 6,500 commuters each morning across the bridge into San Francisco. The union also operates ferry boats that carry 2,500 commuters downtown. Despite the strike, traffic did not reach the disastrous proportions that many had feared because many commuters traveled in carpools and the bridge was relatively free of vehicle breakdowns, according to the California Highway Patrol. Striking drivers, who earn $11.67 an hour, had sought an 8.5% pay increase over two years.