OCTA, Bus Drivers Union Agree to 3-Year Contract

After months of difficult negotiations, the Orange County Transportation Authority and the bus drivers union announced Wednesday that they have agreed to a new contract that will increase pay at least 12.5% and eliminate many concessions made during the county’s historic bankruptcy.

Among the scrapped concessions was an unpopular two-tiered wage system set up five years ago in which newer bus drivers were paid less and offered fewer benefits than coach operators who were hired before the county’s financial disaster.

Amid the bankruptcy, OCTA had to cancel projects and cut dozens of administrators, and it agreed to divert $15 million a year in transportation funds to county coffers for 15 years. But many bus drivers have long felt they were forced to make the greatest sacrifices.

“We’ve worked together to mitigate the effects of the bankruptcy,” said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952. “That says something positive about the authority, the union and the county. A lot of our members were angry and hostile about the wage losses they suffered.”

The local, which represents about 1,020 OCTA bus drivers, accepted the new three-year contract late Tuesday night by a vote of 584 to 246. OCTA’s board of directors is scheduled to approve the agreement Monday.

When talks began in late February, many drivers said they were prepared to strike to recover their lost wages, which have amounted to thousands of dollars a year in extreme cases. The last bus strike in the county was in 1986.

Negotiators on both sides agreed to a new contract in mid-July, but union members--divided over pay raises and the bankruptcy concessions--rejected the deal on a 407-362 vote.

Under this contract, 460 senior bus drivers will receive raises of 4%, 4% and 4.5% the next three years, plus additional benefits and bonuses. The new top wage will go from $18.42 an hour in 2001 to $20.02 in 2003. The high end of the pay scale under the old contract was $17.71 an hour.

Larger raises will go to 560 drivers who were hired at lower pay during the county bankruptcy. According to OCTA, their top wage will increase this year from $15.03 to $18.42 an hour, more than 20%. They also will receive increased benefits.

Pay for new hires will increase from $11 to $12.53 an hour.