L.A. transit negotiators to start discussions Wednesday

A bus rider removes his bicycle from a rack on a Foothill Transit bus as a woman looks at a Metro Rapid bus schedule Tuesday in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Both sides in the four-day-old strike by 4,400 Los Angeles bus and train operators agreed Tuesday to resume bargaining in a dispute that has left thousands of the area's poorest residents pounding the pavement or scrambling to find rides to work.

Negotiators for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the United Transportation Union (UTU) agreed to begin formal contract negotiations Wednesday, marking the first meeting between the two sides since the strike started early Saturday.

It was a tough day for nearly half a million commuters in the second largest U.S. city who normally rely on buses and subways. The MTA says more than two-thirds of those commuters earn $15,000 a year or less and cannot afford cars.

VIDEO CNN's Greg LaMotte explains how the strike is even affecting Angelinos who do not use public transit Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO Listen to a Los Angeles student who did not enjoy riding his bicycle to school on Monday 92K/9 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     RESOURCES Statement from Chairwoman of the MTA Board of Directors     MESSAGE BOARD L.A. Transit strike

Yet most tried hard to get to work.

On Tuesday janitors and maids were spotted hauling mops and brooms on bicycles in the hot sun. Others thrust out their thumbs and began hitchhiking. Neighbors created makeshift cab and bus services with personal automobiles. Some people, unable to afford cabs or find rides, gave up and stayed home.

Traffic clogged city streets, freeway traffic swelled five percent, commuter times in some areas doubled, cab drivers worked overtime and MTA workers picketed in more than a dozen locations.

"People are going to have to do the best they can to get by without the buses," MTA spokesman Gary Wosk said. "They are going to have to be very patient and creative at the same time. We hope eventually the firm stand we are taking will lead to an expanded bus service that many people can take advantage of."

Some 2,000 buses, plus 59 miles (94.9 km) of light rail and subway lines have been halted by the dispute that centers on MTA's desire to require some drivers to work four, 10-hour work days a week and cut overtime. The plan is expected to stem a projected $438 million shortfall that would result from a planned expansion of bus and train lines over the next 10 years.

Union members contend that such a plan would mean a 15 percent pay cut for its senior members. The average driver makes $50,000 a year but with overtime their pay can reach up to $85,000, according to MTA officials.

A network of 100 contract buses along five of the city's main bus routes to help get city residents through the strike has been scrapped due to picket lines, MTA officials said.

Bus rider boards a private van offering a shuttle service Tuesday in Los Angeles

"In past strikes we could count on drivers' supervisors to pick up the ball but they joined another union and have refused to cross picket lines," Wosk said.

The fact that transit workers have left the city's poor in the lurch has sparked some outrage among area residents. But union spokesman Goldy Norton said the transit workers are justified.

"The drivers have the toughest job in the U.S. and they deserve a decent wage. The drivers care a lot more about the poor people than the MTA board does."

Norton added: "Drivers empathize and sympathize but they don't feel they have an obligation to take a 15 percent wage cut ... because the MTA has had financial problems in the midst of the greatest national economic boom in many years."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Los Angeles Rail Transit
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
United Transportation Union
Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

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