By
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Thousands of transit workers went on strike early Saturday after bargaining broke down between union officials and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The walkout by bus and rail drivers, mechanics and clerks is expected to affect about 450,000 people who rely on public transportation in a 1,400-square-mile area of Los Angeles County.
But its full impact likely won't be felt until today, when the bulk of the transit system's users return to work from the weekend.
Negotiations between the United Transportation Union and the MTA hit a snag about an hour before the union's 12:01 a.m. deadline, with both sides saying a strike appeared inevitable.
"They will finish their assignments, turn in their equipment, leave their division and report for strike duty," United Transportation Union spokesman Goldy Norton told The Associated Press shortly before midnight.
At the MTA's downtown bus terminal about 12 people, a few still in uniform, quickly threw up a picket line about a minute after midnight. The raucous group cheered and shouted as drivers began returning empty buses to the terminal.
"Get that bus off the streets," picketers chanted as drivers pulled their buses into the terminals.
The strike deadline was originally set for 12:01 a.m. Friday, but the union representing 4,300 bus and rail drivers agreed to a 24-hour delay, and talks continued.
"We made concession after concession after concession ... they just walked out, stranding hundreds of thousands of people. This is outrageous," MTA spokesman Mark Littman said after talks stalled late Friday night.
Only about seven percent of commuters in Los Angeles County use public transit, but those who do often have few alternatives. Sixty-eight percent have household incomes under $15,000 per year, and nearly three-quarters of bus riders are black or Hispanic, according to the MTA.
"I live seven miles from the hotel and I have no car, not even a bike," said Rosalio Mendiosa, 62, a bus rider who works as a waiter at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Talks began in June when the MTA said it needed to cut costs.
Labor representatives said the MTA has failed to offer an improved schedule, proposing instead to increase the number of lower-paid and part-time drivers. Currently, drivers earn an average $50,000 annually, but can make an additional $20,000 in overtime.
Riders were worried as the negotiations went on.
"I blame the MTA for making it a difficult situation," said Shepard Petit, 55, a disabled student who rides the bus to college.
Gov. Gray Davis had urged resolution of differences to avoid shutting down the nation's second-largest bus system.
"The people of Los Angeles should not be subjected to gridlock and lack of public transit because of intransigence on both sides," Davis said.
