Strike stops buses

By Curtis Lum and Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writers

More than 1,300 O'ahu bus workers walked off the job just past midnight, leaving thousands of residents searching for alternate ways to get around in traffic that is expected to be horrendous this morning.

Mel Kahele announced the strike shortly after midnight. Earlier he had called a city proposal to raise bus fares "one positive movement" but said 38 other issues were unresolved. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

People on O'ahu — commuters going to work, surfers heading for the beach, students on the way to school, tourists out for a jaunt, senior citizens running their daily errands — take more than 240,000 trips a day on TheBus.

Going into talks yesterday afternoon, the head of the union representing bus workers said a 9-0 vote by members of the City Council in favor of bus fare increases was good news, but that proposed cuts in benefits would have to be taken off the table to avert the strike.

Teamsters president Mel Kahele called the council vote "one positive movement in the right direction." But he said there were 38 other issues regarding vacation, medical insurance, pensions and work hours that had yet to be resolved.

Representatives of O'ahu Transit Services and the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers 996 met at the Blaisdell Center meeting rooms to resume contract talks at 2:30 p.m. The two sides didn't meet face to face at the negotiating table until 10:35 last night, using a federal mediator as a go-between for the first eight hours.

Earlier in the day, the council approved the city administration's original bus fare proposal, which would increase the price of adult and youth monthly passes, raise individual fares for children between 6 and 17, and create a 25-cent fare for senior citizens, express riders and passengers who transfer between buses. A final vote is scheduled for Sept. 24.

Councilmembers called the bill a "work in progress," saying they wanted to show bus drivers on the verge of a strike that they were committed to preventing service reductions and layoffs, a central issue in the contract dispute. The bill is designed to generate $6.8 million in revenue, which would restore the cuts in bus service the city made in June and enable the city to avoid additional, more drastic cuts.

Calling the council's vote a good-faith effort, Mayor Jeremy Harris said he recalled the union testifying that the only reason they were considering striking was because of the proposed cuts in service.

"I think they need to understand that both the City Council and the administration (have) made it clear there's absolutely no money available for pay raises or more benefits for bus drivers," Harris said. "There simply is no money."

At the start of negotiations, the union was seeking 10 percent wage increases for each of three years of the contract, but the proposal it took to negotiations yesterday called for annual raises of 40 cents to 60 cents an hour, which amounted to 2 percent to 3 percent increases.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said the proposal from the union in play before yesterday's negotiating session would have cost the city $14.95 million over three years in wages and pensions. She said that would require an increase in bus fares from $1.75 for an adult fare to $3.79. The $6.8 million generated by the bus fare increase includes about $1.3 million in previously negotiated benefits for bus workers, she said.

After five years of employment, bus drivers earn $21.27 per hour or about $44,000 per year, according to OTS. By comparison, the company said police officers and firefighters earn about $37,500 per year and teachers earn about $35,000 per year. Under the current contract, the company said 100 percent of the cost of medical coverage is provided to its workers, compared to 60 percent of the cost provided for police, firefighters or teachers. OTS has said under the current contract it pays $3.19 per hour (15 percent of wage cost) for pension or about $6,600 per year.

Harris said yesterday he doesn't think the public supports pay raises for bus personnel.

"I think everyone realizes this is a very tough economy, a tight budget, that we're all struggling to keep bus service at the same level without having to cut that back, and I really don't believe that the public is supportive of a strike in order for the bus drivers to get pay raises," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gov. Linda Lingle also discussed the issue of salary increases.

"As a society, over time, you hope people's salaries do go up," Lingle said. "… it's just whether the economy is at that point where you can fund those kinds of raises."

Bus driver John Young told council members at the hearing that drivers are not overpaid. "I've been spit on, assaulted and involved in an accident causing death," he said. "I drive on the narrowest streets in one of the most congested cities in the nation. I earn every penny I'm paid every day."

Young was one of dozens of bus riders, bus drivers and others who testified, many blasting the bus fare increases.

Harmony Bentosino, who rides the bus from Makakilo to Waikiki, said the city should consider raising taxes or selling ads on the bus instead of raising fares or cutting services. She said the bus "is essential for our livelihood and it benefits even the people who don't use it because it eliminates gridlock."

OTS officials shut down bus services early last night in preparation for the possible strike, cancelling trips after 11 p.m. on routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, 19, 421, 432, 433 and 434. They also canceled trips after 10 p.m. on routes 40, 42, 52/62 and 55/65.

Advertiser Staff Writers Vicki Viotti, Johnny Brannon and Jennifer Hiller contributed to this report. Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8025.