Fired Bus Driver Isn’t Giving Up

A longtime bus driver and union activist fired by the Orange County Transportation Authority is seeking arbitration to win reinstatement.

Teamsters Local 952, which represents 1,200 OCTA bus drivers, has exhausted grievance procedures for Curtis Gamble and notified the agency last week that it is requesting arbitration.

Gamble, 36, of Anaheim was fired in February after an OCTA inspector noted four violations of regulations -- enough to qualify him for dismissal.

The 14-year veteran was cited for not wearing his seat belt, failing to call out key destinations for passengers, and being behind schedule -- seven minutes at one point and 24 minutes at another.

Gamble, a critic of OCTA’s bus operations, says his firing has more to do with his union activism than his conduct as a driver.

For months, he has led a drive to replace the Teamsters with a more transit-oriented union. A vote of the drivers might be held in June.

Gamble has disputed OCTA’s accusations, saying that his seat belt sometimes catches as it is pulled out and might have been briefly unfastened. He denies failing to call out destinations. He said drivers often fall behind schedule on the county’s busiest routes.

Despite Gamble’s election drive and criticism, Teamsters officials said they must represent Gamble, and that the charges do not warrant termination.

OCTA officials said they stand by the decision to fire Gamble.