INFORMED OPINIONS ON TODAY’S TOPICS : Effects of MTA Labor Dispute Wide-Ranging

Monday’s walkout of 1,900 Metropolitan Transit Authority mechanics--honored by 5,000 bus and rail drivers and transit clerks--has virtually shut down the nation’s second-largest transit system for an entire week. During that period, some of the 1.2 million commuters who normally board MTA buses found themselves crowded inside buses or other vehicles operating on the limited number of lines still functioning. Others shared rides with friends or relived school day memories on yellow buses hired by the MTA until public transportation in Los Angeles County resumes its regular operations. Though life may have rolled on, it did so more bumpily than usual for those affected by the MTA strike.

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Should public transportation service be disrupted during MTA labor disputes?

Thane Opfell, assistant principal, Monroe High School

“There is no doubt that the curtailment of MTA services has negatively affected our students. Our office has received many phone calls from parents who are worried about the consequences of their sons’ or daughters’ absence from school. It is unfortunate that diminishing public resources have contributed to the problems. . . . However, it is even more unfortunate that our students must suffer, through no fault of their own.”

Ray Remy, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

“There’s no question that when you have a labor action in a vital public service that there will be some interruption. The economic consequences of a labor dispute will grow in relationship to the dispute. If it becomes a long-term problem, people will have to find alternative ways to get to work, or you will see severe economic consequences.

“The flip side of this is that there are important economic issues that are the subject of this dispute, which are the attempt to make the system efficient and as economically sound as we can. To do that, these issues need to be resolved so that our system may be comparable to other transportation systems in the country. It doesn’t make sense to come up with a quick solution that, in the end, creates long-term problems.”

Mike Bujosa, president of the local chapter of the Amalgamated Transit Union

“It’s unfortunate for the rider, but it’s not the ATU that wanted the strike and this is the only tool we have to put pressure on the MTA to work out a contract in good faith. We’ve been trying to negotiate a contract for the last three months. We went to the governor to ask for a ‘cooling off period’, which gives you 60 days of more negotiations after the original contract deadline, but the MTA board requested that he not do that. They could have allowed the governor to invoke the cooling off period and we could be at the bargaining table now without ever having disrupted public transportation.

I told them at midnight Sunday that we were willing to work around the clock to get this settled. They waited until Tuesday afternoon to discuss renegotiating and that means that those who depend on public transportation had to go without service.

Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District

“Anytime you’re going to have more cars in the road you’ll have more emissions, which is not going to be good for the environment. It’s hard to tell, however, what the impact is. We presume that those who ride buses don’t have cars, but that’s hard to tell. This has been a smoggy week, but I wouldn’t say that the strike is a direct cause of that.

If this were going to be a long-term issue, it would be more of a problem. MTA has made a commitment to using alternative fuels, such as ethanol. Most school buses (used as substitutes) are either diesel or gasoline-powered. In the short term, then, it’s not a huge concern environmentally, but in the long-term, yes.”