Posted on: Thursday, June 26, 2003

Mediator to join transit talks

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

A federal mediator has been asked to join contract talks between Honolulu's city bus drivers and their employer, O'ahu Transit Services.

The contract for drivers and other workers expires Monday, but no strike deadline has been set and talks are expected to continue beyond that date, officials said.

The two sides are scheduled to meet with the mediator Monday and July 2 and 3, said Perry Confalone, attorney and spokesman for OTS.

Members of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 have been meeting with the transit company since early May in an effort to reach a new three-year contract. After talks broke off briefly May 31, the two sides resumed meeting last week, Confalone said.

OTS, which runs the bus service for the city, is facing a $1.5 million shortfall in the next fiscal year, even with service cuts and a 25-cent increase in bus fares, which will go into the city's general fund.

Mel Kahele, president of Local 996, said earlier that the transit service proposed a wage freeze, a reduction of some medical benefits and vacation days, a shortened work day and the elimination of two paid holidays. The union represents 1,350 drivers, mechanics, clerks, and some supervisors.

"The negotiations are driven by costs issues," Confalone said.

OTS will receive less money from the city in the coming fiscal year and anticipates increases in pension, insurance and fuel costs, he said.

"That's the reality under which we're dealing. The ongoing challenge is to come up with proposals that reflect a fair way to deal with the cost issues," Confalone said.