Buses will return tomorrow
By William Cole
Advertiser Staff Writer
It's a landslide vote: The month-long strike is over, and city buses should be rolling tomorrow.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Bus workers yesterday voted 948 to 109 to accept a five-year deal that gives them pay increases in the fourth and fifth year, keeps medical costs in check, and adds benefits to their pension plans in the third through fifth years.
Thomas Rabe, who has worked 27 years in the city bus system, lets his 9-month-old granddaughter, Tiana Pereira, drop his vote into the ballot box.
Jim Santangelo, a vice president for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the parent union of Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996, called the deal "golden" but said it wasn't all about wages. Rather, he said, it was "benefits, job security" that the 1,300 members of the local wanted — and got.
The settlement guarantees no layoffs and no cuts in benefits for the life of the contract, including medical benefits.
Picket signs hoisted since Aug. 26 were replaced yesterday by hugs and laughter as Local 996 members voted to accept management's final and best offer, get back to work, and start seeing a paycheck again.
O'ahu Transit Service runs the $120-million-a-year bus operation under contract with the city.
For many exasperated riders, the contract ratification is equally good news.
Kendra Byrd, 21, who works at the downtown 24 Hour Fitness and goes to school at Hawai'i Pacific University, said the strike put a big dent in her wallet, and forced her to drive when she normally took the bus. "I've had to shell out a lot of money for gas that I didn't have because I'm a college student," she said.
For bus workers making top salaries, strike pay came out to a little more than $300 a week, less than half a week's normal wages.
"I feel good. I feel wonderful that we're going back," said Gladys Wai, a 28-year bus driver. "When I was doing the ballot-counting, I kept looking at the 'Yes,' 'Yes,' 'Yes' votes. That made me feel so good that everybody besides me is so eager to go back to work again."
Local Teamsters President Mel Kahele said he wanted to again apologize to the public for the inconvenience that the strike caused.
"(But) it wasn't the members of the Teamsters or the employees of OTS ..." he said. "The fight was to keep our benefits and prevent the company from laying off people."
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Mayor Jeremy Harris last night issued a brief statement saying, "We've been convinced from the beginning that the drivers didn't want to strike. Now that they've had their say, it's time to get back to work."
Bus drivers Jade Freitas, left, Sheila Bing and Uilani Souza display their "I survived the bus strike of 2003" shirt at the Teamsters headquarters in Kalihi after voting on the new contract yesterday.
Ed Quintero, a 10-year bus driver, said he wanted to see the contract ratified. "I don't think another month of walking (the picket line) would have been healthy for us or for the city," he said. "Everyone's taking a bite, and we've all got bills.
"Everybody has their priorities — medical was one of mine," Quintero, 47, said, adding he's had a hip replacement.
Santangelo said the HMO that most bus employees belong to just raised its monthly rates by $100, and OTS will be responsible for paying that increase and others over the next five years.
The agreement includes a three-year pay freeze, but wage increases of 50 cents an hour in the fourth year and 65 cents in the fifth year. Bus drivers make between $15.26 and $21.17 an hour.
OTS yesterday cautioned that not all services would be back immediately.
Marilyn Dicus, an OTS spokeswoman, said the buses will begin running between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. tomorrow and a full schedule is expected, but not all routes may be operational. OTS vice president Roger Morton was out of town and was unavailable for comment on the contract ratification.
"We're going to do our very best to get everything running and everything that's supposed to be operated, operating," Dicus said.
Mechanics are being brought in today.
The city is offering free bus service for five days beginning tomorrow as a way to lure riders back. Ridership is expected to be down, and sentiment against the bus drivers may be running high because of their strike.
"I'm pretty scared," said Wai, who added that bus drivers were not always treated with respect even before the strike. "But all I'm going to do is go back, do my job, and if I have a confrontation, I'm just going to block it out."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
