Orange County bus workers go on strike; bus services to be shut down Thursday

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- After walking away from the bargaining table on Monday, the union representing maintenance workers for the Orange County Transportation Authority announced it's going on strike.

OCTA and Teamsters Local 952 have been meeting in hopes of resolving contract negotiations, mainly over salaries and benefits.

Teamsters Local 952 Secretary-Treasurer Eric Jimenez issued a statement on Wednesday regarding the strike, saying OCTA gave them "no other choice."

"We have done everything in our power to avoid a strike,'' said Jimenez. "They have even rejected our proposals that would save them money on members' health care. But when OCTA walked away from the table on Monday, they gave us no other choice.''

In a statement released by OCTA warning Orange County riders of the potential strike, OCTA said it believes a strike is "unnecessary" and "unfairly affects bus passengers and more than 1,000 OCTA employees.

"We have about 100,000 riders a day, so these are people who are going to work, who are going to school, they have no other way to get around, really this is their only option for transportation," said Joel Zlotnik, an OCTA spokesman. "We had the latest proposal from their side, we were evaluating it, and we did have plans, we had asked them to meet again on Friday."

Meanwhile, Orange County Supervisors Katrina Foley told Eyewitness News she respects the workers' right to strike, but is asking OCTA to reevaluate.

"I want everyone to get back to the table," she said. "I want OCTA leadership to understand inflation, the cost of living has increased, health care costs are higher, and we have to match that so that we can care for our employees, our workers who are making sure that the system works for all those working out in Orange County. This is an important issue here in Orange County."

The 150 machinists, mechanics and service technicians provide a variety of services from gassing up the buses to doing repairs.

OCTA said bus service will be halted throughout the county beginning Thursday, Nov. 3.

Bus passengers are asked to check for updates at: www.octa.net.

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