CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
A bus strike on Tuesday could leave commuters, like these McKinley High School students who boarded the bus yesterday after school, scrambling for an alternate means of transportation.
City workers have
rides in case of strikeOfficials plan ways to ease
the potential strain on the public
City officials say most of their estimated 9,000 government employees will be able to get to work should there be a bus strike next week.
"Looks like we have 19 people that need rides," said City Managing Director Ben Lee. "So many of our city employees on the campus may already be carpooling.
"Probably by Thursday or Friday I'll have better numbers."
Lee said the city's 18 department heads were asked to survey their employees to find out who rides the bus and who will need a ride in case of a bus strike.
Talks between Teamsters Local 996, which represents 1,400 employees at TheBus, and Oahu Transit Services, the company that runs the bus system, are not scheduled to resume until Monday.
The meeting comes just hours before the 12:01 a.m. strike deadline on Tuesday leaving commuters, businesses and government to scramble for an alternate means of transportation.
Luckily city officials say many of their employees live in the same area that they work.
"Satellite city halls, driver license testing locations, a lot of them are there already," said Carol Costa, director of customer services. "It appears to be manageable."
In the meantime, Lee said City Transportation Director Cheryl Soon has been meeting with taxi cab companies and private tour bus operators to come up with alternatives for the general public.
"We won't be able to take care of all the 240,000 bus riders but we're going to try to do as much as we can," he said. "As humanly possible, we will certainly try to minimize the inconvenience and provide basic city services."
According to information from TheBus company's Web site, the latest three-year contract proposal presented before the union included a wage freeze for two years.
OTS is also proposing that new employees start at 10 days vacation for the first three years and six days of sick leave after six months. Existing employees would continue to accrue 12 days of sick leave after six months of work and 15 days vacation a year.
However OTS has dropped some aspects of their original proposal, which included the temporary suspension of mechanic tool and uniform allowances and eliminating Good Friday as a paid holiday.
OTS officials said changes are needed to compensate for a $6 million shortfall in the city's operating budget. Cuts in bus service went into effect in June, and more severe cuts are slated for later this month.
"Our position is grounded in the realities of the budget and the local economy," said OTS President and General Manager James E. Cowen. "There is no hidden pot of money. We know that a strike will hurt a lot of innocent people, but it will not create money."
The federal mediator is expected to talk with both sides when they meet on Monday.
Star-Bulletin reporter Crystal Kua contributed to this report.
