MTA Contract Talks Go Down to the Wire

As labor negotiations went down to the wire, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority braced for a bus and rail strike today that could strand tens of thousands of Los Angeles County residents who depend on public transit while it creates a traffic mess for those who don’t.

Union leaders representing 4,200 bus and train drivers set 12:01 a.m. today for a walkout if no agreement was reached on a new contract. Union mechanics and clerks were expected to honor the picket line.

Talks continued late into the night at a downtown hotel after MTA negotiators conducted a closed-door briefing for the board, whose chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, participated by speakerphone from Sun Valley, Idaho, where he is vacationing.

A strike could affect the 1,700 commuters who ride MTA buses from Anaheim and Brea to downtown Los Angeles and from Fullerton to Redondo Beach.

About half of those Orange County passengers take MTA 460 out of Anaheim, a route that is approximated by the Orange County Transportation Authority with bus 721 originating in Fullerton, said OCTA spokesman John Standiford. The other potentially affected MTA routes are 130, 470 and 4901.

There are no MTA trains in Orange County, Standiford said.

In preparation for a strike, MTA planned to put about 275 buses on the 41 busiest routes--fewer buses than originally planned because of difficulty in finding replacement drivers. Usually, the MTA rolls out 1,750 buses on 200 routes.

The replacement buses would be operated by private school bus drivers and nonunion office workers, including computer programmers, planners and secretaries who have undergone bus driver training.

Bus riders should expect crush loads and longer delays in the event of a strike, MTA officials warned Monday. The Red, Green and Blue rail lines will operate at a reduced level.

In case of a strike, MTA bus and rail service would operate only from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fare would be 50 cents except for senior citizens and the disabled, who would pay a quarter. No transfers would be issued.

Metrolink trains--run by a different agency from the MTA--will operate normally, as will municipal and private bus operators, such as Foothill Transit in the San Gabriel Valley.

A key sticking point in negotiations has been MTA management’s wish to contract out more bus lines in order to save money. The MTA, which contracts out about 3% of its lines, wants to increase that to 15% within three years.

Under the proposal under consideration late Monday, the drivers union would be given right of first refusal on the new contracts. MTA officials say the proposal would allow the unions to grow while keeping the work in-house rather than contracting it out to private operators.

MTA officials had proposed that the unions bid on the contracts, using mostly new hires paid $10 an hour--less than the $19 an hour paid to veteran drivers. MTA officials have stressed that no drivers would be laid off or have their salaries or benefits reduced under their proposal.

The MTA, sources say, has offered drivers a 9% to 10% pay raise over the next three years, including automatic cost-of-living increases. The agency reportedly has backed away from its attempt to eliminate the automatic increases. It is still seeking to reduce the MTA’s contribution to union drivers’ health insurance costs.

Raman Raj, MTA managing director of employee and labor relations, said the sides were “very close” to a settlement.

Los Angeles County has endured eight transit strikes since 1960, including a nine-day walkout in 1994 and a 68-day work stoppage in 1974. MTA officials estimate that the 1994 strike cost the Los Angeles County economy $2 million a day.

MTA buses are mostly used by low-income, minority residents who rely on public transit to get around. A recent MTA survey found that 76% of bus riders don’t own a car.

MTA buses and trains average 1.1 million boardings a day.

The bus drivers union has asked Gov. Pete Wilson to seek a court order imposing a cooling-off period that would delay a strike. But unlike Bay Area Rapid Transit officials in San Francisco, who persuaded the governor to delay a strike there last week, the MTA board urged Wilson not to intervene because delaying a strike until September would affect students returning to school.

Just hours before their contract was to expire at midnight June 30, the drivers’ United Transportation Union agreed to a one-week extension.

Negotiations also continue with the mechanics’ Amalgamated Transit Union and clerks’ Transportation Communications Union.

During a work stoppage, Blue Line trains will run every 8 1/2 minutes during rush hour and every 12 minutes at other times. Blue Line service will not operate south of the Willow Street station; riders can catch a Long Beach Transit bus to the Willow station from stations to the south.

Green Line trains will run every 30 minutes, and the Red Line subway would operate every 10 minutes during peak periods and every 16 minutes at other times.

Metrolink commuters were urged, in the event of a strike, to allow at least 45 minutes to transfer to the subway or MTA buses.

Commuters can obtain more information by calling 1-800-COMMUTE or calling up www.mta.net on the Internet. Foothill Transit information is available at (800) RIDEINFO and Metrolink information is available at (800) 371-LINK.

Times staff writer David Haldane contributed to this report.