Bus Drivers Reject Cuts in Pay, Vacation Time

Despite threats of a private contractor taking over their jobs if an agreement isn’t reached by May, Orange County Transit Authority bus drivers turned down a proposed contract Sunday aimed at reducing a $38-million shortfall next year.

In an effort to make up for the shortfall, which will occur in July when state funds are transferred to help pay for the county’s bankruptcy recovery, the proposal would cut wages, shave some health benefits and shorten vacations during the next four years.

Experienced bus drivers earn $17 per hour and receive two weeks of vacation.

The proposed contract would reduce pay 46 cents an hour and cut vacation time to one week. The plan also would reduce time allowed for breaks during a shift, which bus drivers say they use to go to the bathroom.

Drivers rejected the contract during a special vote held for the 765 union members.

Of the 410 bus drivers who gathered at the local Teamsters union hall Sunday night, 280 voted against the contract.

No new negotiations have been scheduled, OCTA executives said.

Officials with the local Teamsters union could not be reached for comment.

Jack Stites, manager of OCTA bus operations, said he was not surprised at the outcome.

“It’s the first time they’ve been asked to help out in the reductions we’ve made since the bankruptcy,” he said. “But this is our best offer. They have to chip in.”

Stites also said that if the proposal is not approved by the drivers before the current contract expires in May, officials may begin privatizing the bus service.

“It’s bound to happen sometime,” Stites said. “But that specter can be put off for a while if this proposal goes through.”

If privatization were to occur, Stites said, the fate of many bus drivers would be uncertain.

“It would be up to that contractor to hire these people back,” he said.

The proposed contract would save the agency about $2.6 million annually, OCTA officials said, adding that the agency will reduce costs by laying off 40 office workers in July.

“We have tried to keep the bus system out of harm’s way the best we could,” OCTA spokesman Bill Hodge said. “These and other minor cuts we’ve made will get us close to covering the shortfall and we won’t have to reduce service.”