Southeast Valley bus strike: Progress seen in talks By Dianna M. Náñez and Gary Nelson The Republic | azcentral Fri Aug 2, 2013 7:54 AM How bad was it? “This was a nuclear option that wasn’t necessary,” Mesa City Councilman Scott Somers, chairman of the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority board of directors said of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433’s strike Thursday against First Transit that shut down bus service in the southeast Valley. Impact of the strike: Quotes from the people How bad will it continue to be? There was a flicker of hope for resolution Thursday evening when Amalgamated Transit negotiator Michael Cornelius and First Transit negotiator Nick Promponas returned to the bargaining table for the first time in six days, saying they want to end the strike quickly and confirming that a tentative agreement had been reached on a major sticking point. They negotiated into the night and agreed to continue today with a federal mediator and former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor at the mediator’s office. “We are meeting in person, and our hope is to reach agreement for the union to return the operators to work in time for (this morning’s) service rollout,” Promponas said. “The people on the road and the people on the strike line are … suffering,” Cornelius said. “I am committed … to bring it to an end as quickly as possible.” But if there is no quick settlement? “I hope the boss understands,” said Mesa resident Tariq Rogers, who takes the bus to work at Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. “We could lose our jobs because you knuckleheads (striking drivers) are fighting over petty stuff.” The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, disrupting the morning commute for tens of thousands of southeast Valley bus riders. It halted service in Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and parts of Scottsdale and Ahwatukee Foothills, as well as express routes from the southeast Valley communities to Phoenix and Scottsdale Airpark. In all, 40 of Valley Metro RPTA’s 101 Phoenix-area bus lines ceased operation. Bus drivers were to remain on the picket line today, but, signaling a turning point in months of vitriolic contract negotiations, Cornelius commended the company for compromising on the key fight over “management rights.” “It was a huge issue. I have to recognize that the employer made movement,” he said. “They made it (management rights) like everyone else’s (contract). It doesn’t supersede our contract. They can’t violate our contract, but they can still run their business.” The management-rights issue has been one of the key sticking points. The union feared that First Transit’s contract with Valley Metro could allow Valley Metro to order the company to violate the union’s labor agreement by unilaterally terminating workers, reducing driver wages or cutting work hours. Cornelius acknowledged that he almost rescinded the union’s offer to return to negotiations when he could not get an answer from United Kingdom-based First Transit officials as to how drivers on strike will receive their paychecks today, because they are not allowed on RPTA property during the strike. “If they think I am going to sit by and wait around and they are not going to pay their employees, that’s just wrong,” he said. Jen Biddinger, a bus-company spokeswoman, told The Republic that some drivers would be paid by direct deposit and that workers without direct deposit should show up at the fence surrounding the operation centers during the strike and they would be given directions about their paychecks. Striking drivers were out early Thursday with picket signs at bus- operation centers in Tempe and Mesa. The apparent solution to the management-rights issue apparently resolved late Thursday paved the way to address about 10 remaining issues and brought the parties back to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Valley residents and businesses suffered collateral damage tied to the strike. “Our business owners have employees who come on the bus, and that means they’re not there,” said Lisa Rigler, president of the Small Business Alliance in Gilbert. “Work piles up, and it gets more and more challenging.” Among large southeast Valley employers, Banner Health reported that employees were coping with the strike. Susan Breding, a Banner spokeswoman, said the strike “has slightly affected some of our environmental-services folks who clean the hospital-patient rooms, pick up the trash. Those employees have been able to find alternative transportation.” Hospital volunteers, Breding said, have found transportation through Dial-a-Ride or other means. David Roderique, president of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, a non-profit focused on business development, said that the strike has not kept most people from getting downtown. “Light rail seems to be busier as more people are using that as an alternative,” he said. At 6 a.m. Thursday at the Tempe Transportation Center, a large bus hub, the whir of bus engines was replaced by silence. Bus benches were empty as Metro light-rail riders filed on and off their trains, which are not affected by the strike. By 7:30, normally prime commuting time, the Chandler Park and Ride at Germann Road and Hamilton Street, the Superstition Springs Park and Ride at U.S. 60 and Power Road in Mesa, the Gilbert Park and Ride at Oak Street and Page Avenue, and the Sycamore Street Park and Ride at 1806 West Main St. in Mesa all were empty. That was a recurring theme at bus stops across the southeast Valley. “It seems as though communication has been good with letting these employees know about the strike before it happened,” Breding said. Still, the hardship did not sit well among those who rely on the bus system for transportation to work, appointments or health care. Joel Santeramo, 38, said he planned to take the bus this week because his car broke down last Friday. “I’m going to be an hour late to work at least, and it’s going to cost me $20 for a cab ride,” Santeramo said. He was stranded at the bus stop on Scottsdale Road north of Shea Boulevard and works only 4 miles away. “They’re using (the heat) to their advantage,” Santeramo said. “They timed it right. ... It was a smart move.” Some of the striking drivers said they feel the riders’ pain but must balance that against their rights as workers. Shirley Henderson-Manley, a bus driver for 28 years — 12 with First Union — and now a veteran of four strikes, said she was livid that after months of negotiations, the result was another strike. “RPTA wants to control how we look, how we dress, how we talk, and it’s up to them to say, ‘I want to keep this person or I want to fire this person,’ and the union can’t do anything but sit in on the meeting. That’s wrong,” Henderson-Manley said. “I’m just frustrated about the whole thing because this should have been done way before now. ... It’s not our fault, and they want us to pay for the fact that they underbidded the last company.” Striking driver Jose Baez, an 11-year veteran, said he understands the inconvenience the strike causes riders. “Starting with the passengers, they don’t need a strike,” Baez said. “The company doesn’t need a strike. ... I don’t think it’s good for the company, and it’s not good for us. “I don’t want to be here in the heat like nobody else. I think the company would rather have us be working.” Republic reporters Eugene Scott, Beth Duckett, Chris Cole, Haley Madden, Brennan Smith and Parker Leavitt contributed to this article.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:53:27 +0000
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