Socialist Action /October 2000
LA Bus and Rail Workers Stand up to
the MTA
By JOANNA BAKER and MICHAEL SCHWARTZ
LOS ANGELES-At 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 16, workers
from the United Transportation Union (UTU) walked off their jobs when negotiations
with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) failed to produce a decent
contract. Workers immediately set up 24-hour picket lines across LA County.
Although some surrounding cities are still operating
their own bus lines, the strike has halted virtually all public transportation
in the county.
The UTU represents 4400 bus drivers and rail operators,
who provide service to 450,000 passengers each day-the second largest public
transportation system in the nation.
In an attempt to minimize the effect of the strike,
the MTA hoped to contract with private bus operators to run a "lifeline"
service. The plan failed because the drivers for those companies are members
of the Teamsters Union, who refused to cross the picket line. The president
of the Joint Council of Teamsters said, "We are going to do everything
we can to help the bus drivers." Clerks and mechanics that work for
the MTA are also honoring the picket line.
This strike is about the drivers fighting to keep
what they have. The MTA wants more work to be done for less pay. Right now
drivers are working 10-hour shifts with two hours paid overtime. The MTA
has put forward a plan that calls for workers to work 13 hours a day, four
days a week, but with absolutely no overtime pay. The drivers would be paid
regular wages for 10 hours each day and the other three hours would be unpaid
breaks or preparation.
The union estimates that this new pay system would
cut average earnings by 15 percent. The MTA also wants to replace full-time
drivers with a part-time workforce in order to further reduce costs.
With a debt that reaches $7 billion over the next
30 years, the MTA is trying to portray itself as a helpless agency that
desperately needs to cut costs. Tim Weldo, the MTA's chief negotiator, said
the transit agency needs $23 million in savings for rail and bus operations
over the next three years. Their plan is to get every penny from cutting
"labor costs."
Mayor Richard Riordan, also chair of the MTA board,
said, "We want to get rid of the antiquated work rules that, like a
cancer, are destroying our transit system."
What the MTA doesn't tell the public is that their
debt is a result of billions wasted on light rail projects that only serve
a minority of riders, as well as on its new downtown office building-decorated
with waterfalls, giant aquariums, and murals-which cost half a billion dollars.
The MTA says that drivers make an average of $50,000
dollars a year and an additional $20,000 in overtime. Mayor Riordan said
that "a number of MTA employees make over $80,000 a year." This
is a gross distortion of the truth.
According to The Los Angeles Times, entry-level
drivers are only making $8 an hour, and the average worker would need to
work 56.5 hours a week to make $50,000 a year. Only three percent of drivers
make over $75,000 a year. Drivers we spoke with said they couldn't make
$50,000 even if they worked every day of the year.
An attempt has been made by the MTA and the media
to pit the bus drivers and the bus riders against each other. Drivers are
also shown as uncaring people who do not care about "poor, minority
riders."
Stories run in The Times about kids not being able
to go to school, people missing doctors appointments, and people walking
hours upon hours to get to work. Rather than blame the MTA, The Times blames
the drivers.
But the riders are not falling for this game. Many
have expressed their solidarity with the bus drivers. One person told us,
"Everyone knows they need better wages, the companies are always offering
less than what the workers really need." Other riders we spoke to said
if they were in the drivers' shoes they'd be on strike also.
The 3000-member Bus Riders Union, which has 50,000
supporters, are behind the bus drivers in their struggle. They know that
the MTA's claiming to care about poor bus riders is a joke. MTA buses are
in terrible condition, and workers we spoke with told us that many buses
are unsafe.
A member of the MTA board stated that "if
the MTA fails to achieve the savings it needs from the drivers union, it
will mean a 20 cent increase in the basic bus and rail fair." So much
for their consideration of the "poor bus riders."
MTA workers deserve decent wages, benefits, and
hours, and safe working conditions.
If you want to help the workers in their fight,
call the UTU local headquarters at (626) 962-9980.
Socialist Action /October 2000 |