Small Gains Reported in Transit Strike Talks

Negotiations between striking bus and train mechanics and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continued into the night Friday, with small gains reported by both sides.

In a sign that the talks were moving forward, the two sides met face to face at least for a while, and reportedly had resolved several minor issues. A counterproposal to the MTA’s latest offer -- in which the giant transit agency backed off an earlier demand that it be given control of the union’s nearly insolvent health-care fund -- was submitted by the union.

But union negotiators, angry at pointed remarks by a top MTA official, accused the transit agency of jeopardizing the delicate talks.

“This does not help negotiations,” said mechanics union President Neil Silver.

Silver bristled at MTA board Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky’s contention Thursday that Silver called the strike to foster his bid for reelection as president of the local. Yaroslavsky said the MTA hopes to discourage the union from striking in the future.

“This only fans the flames,” Silver said.

In a move that some insiders said was to prevent further explosive remarks, MTA officials decided not to hold their daily media briefing Friday, and Yaroslavsky, who had been hosting the news conferences, would not return reporters’ phone calls.

“There’s been a lot of press activity lately and we don’t want to distract” the negotiators, said MTA spokesman Marc Littman.

The 2,200-member mechanics union walked off the job Oct. 14 after 17 months without a contract. Union drivers, clerks and dispatchers walked out in sympathy.

MTA buses and trains stopped running just before dawn that morning, stranding patients heading to medical appointments, students on their way to school and workers heading to their jobs.

Antonio Villaraigosa, an MTA board member and a Los Angeles city councilman who is a former labor organizer, was sharply critical of the MTA’s aggressive stance during the strike.

He said the expenditure of $100,000 on ads critical of the strike had not been approved by the MTA board, and he expressed concern that the negotiations could bog down in a personality dispute between Yaroslavsky and Silver.

Yaroslavsky’s remarks about Silver and the union “don’t help us resolve this strike as quickly as possible,” Villaraigosa said. “Our goal right now should be to resolve this strike as quickly as possible and put the buses back on the streets.”

Scott J. Witlin, a labor relations attorney who specializes in representing management, said the union’s willingness to stay at the bargaining table belies Silver’s contention that the MTA’s public statements could slow negotiations. “What they’re saying is, ‘We’re talking,’ ” Witlin said.