Bus officials stand
firm on bargainingNegotiators say there is no money,
a charge the union disputes
Oahu Transit Services officials said a strike by TheBus drivers and other workers will not achieve anything because there is no money to give them.
"Frankly, the city has told us that there just is no money," said Marilyn Dicus, Oahu Transit Services negotiator and marketing manager.
The company, which runs TheBus under contract with the city, is proposing to lay off about 40 drivers, saying the city gave it $4.2 million less this year than last year. It is also proposing cutbacks to employee benefits and bus service.
Teamsters Union members voted Tuesday to authorize a strike. They include maintenance crews, bus drivers, clerks and mechanics.
Local 996 of the Teamsters Union objects to any layoffs, benefit cutbacks and cuts in service, sticking points in negotiations for a three-year contract, said union spokesman Christopher Boucher.
Both sides are to return to the bargaining table this afternoon at Blaisdell Center.
Boucher recommended Oahu Transit Services cut management positions. "If they got to cut bus driver positions, mechanics ... they should take the same hits as we do," he said. "We're not the bad guys here."
The union blames the company for not making more of an effort in getting needed funding from the City Council, and had asked the company to have a joint lobbying effort in March.
Union officials said a walkout could happen any time within the next two to three weeks.
The city has some contingency plans in the event of a strike to "provide as much relief as we possibly can under difficult circumstances to the commuters in the city," Mayor Jeremy Harris said.
A strike would result in a complete shutdown of bus service by Oahu Transit Services, and the company is urging the bus-riding public to either share rides, carpool, work from home or whatever is most beneficial, Dicus said.
Only the mayor, and not an individual contractor like Oahu Transit Services, could request supplemental funds from the City Council, Dicus said.
