Santa Cruz Metro strikers stand solid

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Members of UTU Local 23, who went on strike Tuesday (Sept. 26) after the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District board rejected an agreement that would have staved off a work stoppage, remain solidly united, bolstered by the backing of many in the community as well as fellow UTU members from the state and national level.

Bundled in fleeces and hats, a group of about 25 bus operators after midnight Tuesday morning (Sept. 27) on River Street carried strike signs and cheered as the last of Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District buses rolled into the transit yard, according to a report published by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Many present were familiar faces from board meetings. Others would rotate in on six-hour shifts later in the day at this and three other locations, the Sentinel reported.

Picketers voiced deep frustration with the district and belief that a strike was their last resort, the Sentinel said.

"They pulled the rug out from under us," bus operator Mark Martinez told the Sentinel, standing next to an old California Highway Patrol car he had remodeled with yellow flashing light, flame decals and sayings like "UTU Local 23 on strike!!"

"There is a lot of public support for the drivers," said General Chairperson Bonnie Morr. "A lot of people driving by are honking and or giving the thumbs-up sign."

Drivers moved to strike after Friday's (Sept. 23) Metro board meeting, when directors rejected a tentative agreement between negotiating teams from Metro and the union. The board's decision left operators working under a contract imposed by the board last month.

After Friday's fallout, drivers announced Monday evening (Sept. 26) they would walk off the job that night, the Sentinel said. That left about 23,000 residents looking for rides or other solutions.

Along with River and Encinal streets, members of Local 23 walked the line on Pacific Avenue and at the Watsonville Transit Center. They carried signs reading "UTU on strike," "Good workers deserve good benefits," and "Is a fair contract too much to ask?"

Mike Anderson, UTU's assistant state legislative director, brought some signs from a previous strike in Roseville. "We've had them since (1970) and every strike has been successful," Anderson told the Sentinel. "They're good karma."

Some members of the local spoke aggressively about their plight. Others were calm and insightful.

"Treat us fairly," said driver and negotiating team member Tony Herrera. "Going back to the bargaining table, that's a good beginning."

Resting a picket sign against his shoulder, Herrera also spoke about riders. It pains drivers to leave them stranded too, he said. It would be one thing if the group worked for a corporation, where it was just union and management.

"Here, there's a middle man."

If talks resume, Herrera said, all topics will be back up for discussion. Drivers also want a contract for no less than three years.

"We don't want the public to go through this again," he said.

On Tuesday evening, General Chairperson Bonnie Morr addressed the city council meeting, explaining the UTU's position and the fact that there was a signed agreement to keep the buses running. "A few individuals have forced this strike action without thought of the public or the drivers," Morr said.

"You get the feeling there is a lot of support for the union," said an observer at the council meeting. "Especially after the facts are brought out."

After the meeting, Morr said the rank-and-file members of her local have expressed grateful appreciation for the support they've received from the UTU International and the state legislative director's office.

An editorial published today (Sept. 28) in the Sentinel, not entirely sympathetic to the strikers, expressed the opinion that the strike "could do permanent damage to this area's transit system," and took the union members to task for giving little notice of when the strike would start.

But the editorial also noted, "Drivers were angry -- perhaps rightly so. They thought they had a temporary agreement with the district to operate under a compromise contract, at least for several months until a new contract could be written....Drivers do, in fact, face steep increases in medical insurance costs, and they've requested help from the district in solving the problem....

"Perhaps asking the drivers to understand the grim financial realities of the district is asking too much," the editorial said. "It's difficult to ask workers to give up on benefits that they've negotiated for themselves in past years...That's why we believe that district officials and the board of directors have acted irresponsibly....Taxpayers and bus riders deserve better."

Meanwhile, businesses around the county experienced mixed effects on their operations from the strike, with most saying customer counts were down by varying degrees. At least one business, however, has seen an uptick with the strike, the Sentinel reported. "We brought on three or four more drivers, and they're all busy," said Michelle Prater, daily dispatcher for Yellow Cab Co.

Most of the calls were for people going to UC Santa Cruz, said Prater, saying she got six to eight times as many calls as usual for rides to campus. Business for the cab company jumped about 25 percent Tuesday, Prater told the Sentinel.

Some stores at the Capitola Mall opened five or 10 minutes late as employees and managers fought increased congestion on the roads or found another mode of transportation to work

Juan Valdivia, owner of Taqueria El Torito at the Watsonville Transit Center on Rodriguez Street, was having a slow day. "It's empty, there really aren't any customers," he told the Sentinel in Spanish. Valdivia said he saw a 40 percent drop in business on Tuesday.

The strike situation is "compounded by the fact that we have standing transportation challenges," said Greg Carter, executive director of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce. "It would be tough in a place where we didn't, but we do, and it puts the challenge back in our face," he told the Sentinel.

UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College campuses were hit hard on the first day of the Metro bus strike, the Sentinel reported. At UC Santa Cruz, about 5,500 students and 500 staff and faculty members were affected by the strike. Some students skipped classes, and so did some food-service workers.

(The preceding includes reporting by Genevieve Bookwalter, Tom Ragan, Soraya Gutierrez and Jondi Gumz that was published by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.)

September 28, 2005