ORANGE, Calif.—Bus service resumed Nov. 7 amid ongoing negotiations between the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and the union representing its maintenance workers, but the reprieve could be short-lived, with the union threatening to return to the picket lines after Election Day if no agreement is reached.
Negotiations resumed over the weekend, offering hope for an end to the strike that shut down all bus services in the county last week. Teamsters leaders agreed to lift the picket lines Monday and Tuesday so commuters can get to the polls on Election Day. If there is no agreement by Nov. 9 the union likely will hit the picket lines again, once again halting bus service.
Eric Jimenez, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952, told City News Service on Nov. 6 that the two sides talked Saturday and Sunday. Jimenez said the union pulled pickets down at 4 p.m. Sunday, but they may go back in a day or two, and characterized talks as going “pretty slow.”
Transit agency officials said service would resume Monday, but passengers were advised to expect some delays.
“We hope that there will be no further disruption in service and that we can work this out without affecting the people that count on OC Bus to get to work, school, and other important destinations,” said OCTA Chairman Mark Murphy, who is also the mayor of Orange.
Both sides seemed stalemated on Friday before agreeing to return to the negotiating table over the weekend.
“We’re willing to continue the discussions,” OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said. “We think the offer on the table is really competitive in the market. In the market we’re in for Southern California, we’re only below LA Metro, which is a significantly larger transit system.
“And ultimately, none of these issues can be worked out unless we’re at the bargaining table. The union chose to strike, ending negotiations. If we’re going to resolve this, it has to be done in negotiations.”
The union called the walkout Nov. 2—setting up picket lines at the agency’s Santa Ana and Garden Grove yards—and Thursday was the first-day bus commuters were left to look for alternate means of getting to and from work, doctor visits, and other appointments.
“People are stranded,” Zlotnik said. “They can’t get to work. They can’t get to school.”
Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee, who also serves on the OCTA board, said that it didn’t appear Gov. Gavin Newsom would step in anytime soon.
“The governor’s been called, but he’s declined to invoke the power he has to temporarily stop the strike,” Chaffee said on Thursday. “The strike may last a while, but I hope not.”
A strike that was previously planned for Oct. 17 was called off when Newsom asked both sides to continue negotiations but the talks fizzled when Teamsters Local 952 claimed OCTA negotiators walked away from the bargaining table on Oct. 31.
According to OCTA, the agency offered a 14.25 percent salary increase over three years, which includes an immediate 5 percent pay hike, another 4.75 percent increase on Oct. 1 of next year, and an additional 4.5 percent raise on Oct. 1 of 2024.
The offer also includes a 16 percent hike in health care contributions over the same period, in addition to chipping in 26.4 percent of salary to the Orange County Employees Retirement System and $1.30 per hour worked—up to 2,080 hours—to the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund.
Teamsters leaders say the maintenance workers have not had a pension increase in more than a decade.
The top wage for mechanics would be $43.19 per hour, or $90,000 annually, which doesn’t include health care and pension contributions, according to the agency.
OCTA officials argued that because the maintenance employees are in the union’s trust for their health insurance benefits, the cost of the plan and design of it is up to the Teamsters.
