Bus drivers strike leaves students stranded

September 28, 2005

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit strike is affecting hundreds of San Jose State University faculty and students, according to SJSU Commute Coordinator Andy Chow.

The Highway 17 Express is a charter bus that's routed over Highway 17 for those traveling between San Jose and Santa Cruz.

There are a few hundred people from campus who use the 17 Express as their main source of transportation to SJSU on a daily basis, Chow said.

The Metro employees went on strike Tuesday at 12:01 p.m., according to a Santa Cruz Metro press release.

The transit drivers are part of the United Transportation Union, Local 23, Chow said.

Since the first Santa Cruz Metro employee strike threat back on Sept. 8, SJSU has e-mailed all students and faculty from SJSU who use the Highway 17 Express, informing them of the situation and offering them alternatives.

The SJSU Transportation Solutions has developed a matching program that people can use to locate others in their area who would be interested in carpooling to SJSU, Chow said.

The emails were sent out after the first threat in early September and soon after, there were about 50 people signed up for the matching program, Chow added.

On Sunday, the Metro Board of Directors presented a "Last, Best, and Final Offer" imposition to the bus drivers union that would go in to affect June of next year.

The union then presented the board of directors with a proposal that modified the opposition offered to them, according to Santa Cruz Metro.

The modifications included an increase in health care coverage for families that would be implemented in June of next year, according to Santa Cruz Metro.

The drivers union demands were denied by the board of directors, according to the Santa Cruz Metro press release, but this wasn't the first sign of a strike.

On Sept. 8, the union of bus drivers threatened to strike, Chow said.

Then overnight, the drivers union and the Santa Cruz Metro reached a tentative agreement that would stop the strike at that time, Chow said.

The employees continued to work as usual, then on Sunday, the board of the Santa Cruz Metro had a conference and rejected the union's proposal modifications, Chow said.

Now they are picketing and refusing to work until their requests are met, Chow said.

"My expectation is that they will keep striking until it's resolved, the strike can last anywhere from a week to as long as a month," he said.

However, there are two separate employee unions that work with the Santa Cruz Metro, the drivers union and the Service Employee International Union.

This employee union is made up of the clerical workers at the Santa Cruz Metro. However, Chow said the administrative union is not involved with the strike at all.

He also said that last year in Los Angeles, a similar strike occurred when of bus drivers refused to work and the whole ordeal lasted a month.

This time around, nearly a month later, there was no warning before the strike, Chow said.

The whole situation happened over night and SJSU patrons had no warning.

Nevertheless, Chow said people who use the Highway 17 Express were informed of the previous strike threat and therefore weren't completely in the dark about the possibility of another.

The Santa Cruz Metro charges a monthly fee of $82 for people taking the Highway 17 Express.

Chow said the Metro is responsible for compensating the SJSU students and faculty for this month due to the strike.

The SJSU Transportation Solutions office has informed students of alternate ways of coming to campus.

The Greyhound bus service has a route going from Santa Cruz to San Jose, Chow said, but there are only four round trips and the seating is very limited.

The matching program is also available for student and faculty carpools. The VTA is also an option for students and faculty.

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