Revived Labor Bill May Again Go Before Davis

A labor-backed bill that could cripple plans for a San Fernando Valley transit district is on the home stretch to a possible showdown with Gov. Gray Davis, who vetoed a similar bill last year.

The bill, which passed the Assembly late Tuesday night, could return to the Senate, where it originated, today for a final vote.

Despite the legislation’s strong backing from labor unions, Davis vetoed an almost identical measure last year that would have required any new bus-service operator to pay wages and benefits on a par with what workers now receive at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In his veto message, Davis said he did not think the state should intervene in the labor issues of local agencies.

This time around, the bill is set against the backdrop of contentious labor negotiations with the MTA. Negotiators are predicting a strike after Labor Day, the first one since a 1994 walkout that lasted nine days.

A spokesman for Davis said the governor has not made a decision on the bill, but is monitoring the Los Angeles negotiations between unions and the MTA.

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Barry Broad, a lobbyist for the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents more than 1,800 bus and rail mechanics, said after the governor’s veto last year, it was clear that Davis wanted the unions and the MTA to solve labor issues.

“If we send this bill to the governor, it’s because we have not been able to reach an agreement with the MTA, try as we might,” Broad said. “It has always baffled us why the [bill’s] opponents seem to believe they can’t create a transportation zone with our people protected.”

As stipulated by the MTA board, a new transit zone can not be created unless it can demonstrate a 15% savings and improved service.

But opponents of the bill sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City) see protection of labor rights as a roadblock to creating a new transit district.

“The people in the Valley wouldn’t want a zone that doesn’t save money,” said Scott O. Schmidt, government liaison director for the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., which opposes the legislation. “Why would we want a transit zone that does the same as the MTA?”

In July, Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) added an amendment lifting the requirement that a new zone must operate more cheaply than an existing transit agency. The amendment also states that a new operator can’t run a more expensive zone than current service.

In effect, that amendment, said Richard Katz, VICA’s ground transportation committee co-chairman, “cuts the incentive to cut bureaucracy.”

With the MTA and transit unions clashing over contracts, Katz, a former assemblyman, noted “a certain amount of consternation that the governor and the Legislature [were] placed in the middle of what is a contract negotiation.”

The Assembly’s 46-30 vote late Tuesday night was strictly along party lines.

Democrats supported the bill, while all opposing votes were from Republicans.

The debate in Sacramento was a replay of last year’s exchange, with opponents of the bill warning it could kill a Valley transit zone and supporters saying it provides reasonable guarantees for workers.

“It would lock any future Valley Transit Zone into the bloated contracts of the MTA,” said Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), who supports creation of the zone.

A key purpose of establishing the zone is to reduce costs for bus service in the Valley and to put some of the savings into better service.

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With that understanding, the bill, according to McClintock, “makes it pointless to even contemplate a zone.”

Democrats disagreed.

“It protects the contracts they signed and it makes sure we maintain the level of service people expect,” said Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles).

Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), a co-author of the bill and a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, said he believes a more efficient transit zone is possible.

“While he does support a Valley transit authority, he doesn’t support doing it on the backs of the bus drivers and mechanics,” said Elena Stern, a spokeswoman for Villaraigosa.