OK, this will sound bizarre to all of you who believe in the stereotype of people in “The OC” speeding around in Hummers and Maseratis… But I often ride the bus here. That’s why I’m now worrying about
the bus workers’ strike that started at 12:00 AM today.

I don’t know what’s happening to the buses that usually glide down Bristol Street just outside my house. I don’t know if I can take the bus today to where I had been planning to go. I’m now wondering if my idea of being more eco-friendly by using mass transit was a stupid idea after all.

But more importantly, I’m worrying about all those hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to get around. How do they get to work and to school and to the grocery store now? What the heck will happen to all these people?

Follow me after the flip for more…

Right now, OCTA bus drivers are paid between $13 and $21 an hour. That may sound good, but consider how much it costs to make do in a place with such a high cost of living as Orange County. And consider that they haven’t had a pay increase in years. And consider that the wage and benefit package that’s being offered by OCTA won’t meet the projected living standards offered by the county. The only reason why the drivers are going on strike is because they can’t keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living.

So OCTA is starting to budge. Why couldn’t they budge sooner? And why can’t they just agree upon a fair deal with the drivers? Some 220,000 riders depend on these buses to get around every day. And now that the entire Orange County bus system is in limbo, how can these people get around?

Maybe a few of these people have their own cars. Maybe some of these people have friends who can give them rides. But what about all those folks who have no access to a car? Are they just screwed?

So this strike isn’t a good deal for any one. The drivers need a living wage that will help them get by in such an expensive place to live as OC. The riders need buses to get them to where they need to go. And the OC economy depends on these workers and consumers who use the bus to get around.

So what happens now? I guess I’ll have a hard time getting around today. Perhaps I can bum more rides off my dad. But what about all those folks who can’t bum a ride off my dad? How will they get down Bristol Street to the mall now? How will they get to work at that sushi place in Newport? How will they get to the grocery store off 17th Street?

I guess that’s the way the strike blows.

I just knew this was coming. I knew it was coming. Get ready for another strike at a Vons, Ralphs, and/or Albertsons near you. (From LA Times)

Southern California grocery workers voted Sunday to give their union the right to strike if negotiations for a new contract fail. Union officials said the measure passed by an overwhelming 95%.

Contract talks between the United Food and Commercial Workers [UFCW] union and Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons over a new agreement for 65,000 workers from Bakersfield to the Mexican border broke off late last week. Sunday’s strike authorization vote was set by the union after the grocery chains failed to meet a Thursday deadline for a formal offer.

So what exactly happened? Why couldn’t an agreement be reached? What’s at stake for the grocery companies? What’s at stake for the grocery workers? And what happens next? Follow me after the flip for more…

So why couldn’t an agreement be reached? The OC Register explains:

At issue are health benefits, pensions and adding a lower payment scale for employees, who say they haven’t had a raise since 2002. A representative for the grocery companies called the vote premature and said store officials remain hopeful that they will get back to the bargaining table this week.

Oh, so the vote is “premature”? And the stores are hopeful that they will “get back to the bargaining table this week”? Well, why couldn’t they just work out a fair agreement from the bargaining table to start with? They could avoided all the risk of another strike with a fair agreement.

Take a look at this fact sheet from the UFCW. Profits for the stores have been better than ever, yet the corporate executives at Ralphs (Kroger), Vons (Safeway), and Albertsons (Supervalu) refuse to share any with the workers. The store executives always whine about Wal-Mart and Costco eating away at their market share, yet Wal-Mart and Costco COMBINED only control about 8% of the Southern California market. THAT’S ACTUALLY LESS MARKET SHARE THAN WAL-MART AND COSTCO HAD IN 2003, when the grocery companies were claiming that they need to cut workers’ wages and benefits in order to remain competitive against Wal-Mart and Costco. Yet even though all the workers worked so hard after returning from the 2003-2004 strike to rehabilitate the supermarkets, the grocery companies not only refuse to give them any thanks, but they won’t even give the workers the fair wages and benefits that they should have been given in 2003.

No wonder why workers were so ready yesterday to approve the strike. (From OC Register)

Union workers, still feeling the effects of a five-month strike ending in March 2004, said they are willing to take the risk of a walkout. Debbie Johnson, a mother of four who has worked at the Vons in Huntington Beach for 27 years, said she’s ready to rely on her husband’s paycheck for a while.

“I’m tired of playing the game that goes back and forth,” Johnson said. “There are other jobs out there. I could go anywhere and not have to do all the (work) I do now.” […]

Eddie Davalos, a dairy department supervisor at an Albertsons in La Habra, said he decided to stay at the company for 15 years because of the good benefits. Under the proposed contract, the co-payments for his three kids’ medical visits would go from $25 to $50, he said.

“I feel like it’s a slap in the face,” Davalos said.

Yep, it really is a slap in the face. These workers are struggling just to keep their heads above water. They’re just trying to put some food on their family tables after helping us bring food to our family tables. However, the grocery company CEOs are enjoying record compensation as the companies are reaping in healthy profits. So why can’t the workers just get some decent wages and benefits?

Something needs to be done.

So what can we do about this? What can we do to support the workers as they demand a fair contract? Well, we can start by signing the pledge to take your business elsewhere as the companies are forcing this strike to happen. And since we’re not shopping at the stores that aren’t respecting their workers, we might as well use the store finder to locate nearby grocery stores that are respecting their workers. We can also share these flyers with our friends, family, and neighbors, letting them know what’s at stake for the workers.

Whether or not we ourselves are part of the UFCW, these workers are our friends. They are our brothers and sisters in solidarity. Let’s show them some.

Uh, oh. I guess I won’t be using the bus for a while. Look at what I found in The Register:

http://www.ocregiste…

Orange County bus drivers could go on strike at midnight tonight, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a 60-day cooling-off period and lawyers for the state are expected to seek a court injunction today that would stop an immediate walkout.

The bus drivers earlier authorized a strike and will be without a contract at midnight, with no further talks scheduled, according to Teamsters Local 952, which represents about 1,100 Orange County Transportation Authority bus drivers.

So what does this mean for the 200,000 plus people who ride OCTA buses every day? And what might happen to the drivers? Follow me after the flip for more…

So what does this mean for the workers? Another snippet of the article gives us a clue:

Meeting Friday, representatives of the bus drivers union and OCTA failed to extend the driver’s old contract, said Patrick Kelly of the Teamsters.

The contact expired last Monday, but was extended for a week when Schwarzenegger ordered a seven-day cooling off period, which expires at midnight.

Today, attorneys for the state are expected to ask an Orange County judge to prohibit a strike for 60 days more, Kelly said.

More than 200,000 people a day ride Orange County buses.

If the judge determines a walkout would not significantly disrupt public transportation services and endanger the public health, safety or welfare, and does not issue an injunction, the bus drivers are ready to walk off the job just after midnight, Kelly said.

So what happens to everyone riding the bus? Does this mean that I can’t take Route 57 from my house to Newport? Does this mean I can’t take Route 1 from Newport to Laguna? What happens to all the workers who use the bus? What happens to the disabled folks who depend on OCTA to get around?

I’m really disappointed that OCTA could not make an agreement with the Teamsters. Not only are they putting the livelihoods of these bus drivers at risk, but they are also jeopardizing the livelihoods of all the many thousands of workers who depend on OCTA to get to their jobs on time. I have a feeling that this won’t work out for anyone.

Too bad that OCTA and the County of Orange allowed this labor dispute to become a transportation nightmare.