Mayor calls for end to Los Angeles transit strike

Bus operators and mechanics try to stop a Metropolitan Transit Authority vehicle from crossing their picket line in downtown Los Angeles

In this story: Sides swap proposals Overtime payments a sticking point RELATED STORIES, SITES

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Talks between negotiators for the bus drivers' union and the Metropolitan Transit Authority ended Friday night with no concessions said MTA's Marc Littman.

The two sides had met with hopes of ending the transit strike that has left an estimated half million people in the city without transportation.

They will return to the bargaining table Saturday at 2 p.m.

RESOURCES Statement from Chairwoman of the MTA Board of Directors     MESSAGE BOARD L.A. Transit strike

James Williams, president of the United Transportation Union, told his members Wednesday the strike may last several more weeks. Officials with the Metropolitan Transit Authority also expressed frustration.

In a news conference Wednesday evening, Mayor Richard Riordan appealed to the union for action.

Sides swap proposals

"For the sake of bus riders, for the sake of the people of Los Angeles, for the sake of the businesses of Los Angeles, I say to the union, get back to the table, and let's get the buses back on the road," Riordan said.

The transit authority said it offered the union a new contact proposal Tuesday night and had expected to get a response at Wednesday's meeting. Instead, according to the Gary Wosk with the MTA, union representatives presented the MTA with a counterproposal he called "a carbon copy of their expired contract."

MTA spokesman Marc Littman told CNN Thursday, "We are disappointed with the counterproposal we got last night from the UTU. We felt it was a step backwards."

Overtime payments a sticking point

One of the sticking points in the talks is an MTA proposal to hire more part-time employees in an effort to shave $23 million off the cost of overtime to the drivers. The union has rejected that plan.

Once a settlement is reached, it will take at least 24 hours to get the city's buses running and at least two days to get the trains running, Littman said.

The United Transportation Union represents 4,300 bus and rail operators.

With 2,200 MTA buses, Los Angeles' system is the third largest in the country, following New York and New Jersey.

The strike began September 16.

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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
Amalgamated Transit Union

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