LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake Transit Authority Board found itself at the center of an ongoing labor dispute on Wednesday, as its board meeting was the scene of a lengthy discussion about an indefinite strike of the county's transit workers.
Paratransit Services, the Washington-based nonprofit operating Lake Transit since 2007, and Teamsters Local 665 are deadlocked in their efforts to reach a new contract.
That led late in July to union members voting to go out on strike for the second time in less than a month.
The indefinite strike, which began on July 29, would be a source of discussion throughout the meeting, but in particular Teamsters Local 665 President Ralph Miranda had asked for the board to discuss restoring the county's transit services “with qualified, experienced, certified, competent employees,” according to the item's precise wording on the agenda.
Miranda, along with Local 665 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Gleason, asked the transit board to support binding arbitration between the union and Paratransit Services, which Gleason said was a path to getting services restored immediately – within 24 hours.
Union representatives also suggested that the board should appoint a neutral fact-finding group to help bring the negotiations, and the strike, to an end.
Board members received a Tuesday night email from Lake County Supervisor Anthony Farrington supporting the binding arbitration proposal. In addition to Farrington, the union said it had received support for the idea from state Sen. Noreen Evans.
While board members said they sympathized with transit workers, appreciated them and wanted to see them get back to work as soon as possible, board members maintained that the contract between Paratransit Services and Lake Transit prohibited the agency from interfering with the employer-employee relationship.
Board member Martin Scheel, a Lakeport City Council representative, questioned what action the board could take legally.
“I hate to say that our hands are tied,” said Scheel. “I know that's not what any of you want to hear. But in many aspects they are.”
Miranda would say toward the end of the meeting a while the workers appreciated the favorable sentiments of the board, ultimately they didn't hear what they wanted to from the board members.
Union members and their supporters suggested Wednesday that Paratransit Services is involved in attempts to bust the union, while Paratransit Services officials replied that the union has used heavy-handed tactics during the strike, alleging that drivers have been followed, harassed and threatened.
Board member Joey Luiz, a representative from the Clearlake city Council, reported that he was called a scab by striking workers as he was visiting the Lake Transit offices this week. Union members apologized to him during the meeting for that incident.
Both the union and Paratransit Services said they have filed charges against each other with the National Labor Relations Board.
During her report to the board, Christie Scheffer, Paratransit Services' chief operating officer and executive vice president, told the board with regard to the efforts to settle on a new contract, “We have to be reasonable, we have to be realistic, and the proposal that's been laid before us is completely unrealistic.”
Scheffer said Lake Transit's payroll runs a little over $1 million annually, and Paratransit Services has had to absorb large medical and insurance cost increases, which have outstripped the increases included in the Lake Transit contract.
During the meeting it was revealed that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Miranda, who reiterated that Local 665 notified Paratransit Services last month in its strike notice that the union remained ready to return to the bargaining table, said he intended to call a federal mediator on Wednesday afternoon to ask that Paratransit Services return to the bargaining table.
Scheffer told Lake County News that Paratransit Services absolutely would return to negotiations if the federal mediator asked them to do so.
However, Scheffer qualified the news by explaining that mediators usually will ask if there are changes to the situation before attempting to get the sides back to the table. In this case, said Scheffer, there have been no changes in the stances of the two sides.
Support for experienced workers
Wednesday's meeting, held in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, was a departure from most, as Board Chair Marsha Wharff noted that the meetings usually are sparsely attended.
This time, however, it was standing room only, with numerous union members, community members there to show their support and Paratransit Services staff in the room.
During the nearly three-hour-long meeting, the board heard several impassioned pleas from community members who rely on the services offered by Lake Transit.
Among them was Lakeport resident Dana Spahn, who needs the services to get around. Spahn, a double amputee who is confined to a wheelchair, said no one else can lift her heavy motorized wheelchair, which can be handled by the lifts on the Lake Transit buses.
“This is ridiculous. No one is trying to make amends here,” she said.
Lake Transit general manager Mark Wall said he believed everyone in the room was concerned about the effects of people not having transit services, but he added that it takes more than one person to work at an agreement.
In discussing pay for Lake Transit's drivers, Wall said that in understanding how transit drivers are paid, the best way to get a true comparison between Lake and other counties is to consider the funding available to the transit system, the single greatest source of which comes from a sales tax.
Lake County doesn't have as much sales tax because it doesn't have as many retail outlets, Wall said.
For 2010-2011, Lake County received more than $1.2 million in transportation funds, compared to $3.6 million in Mendocino County, more than $16 million in Sonoma County, $5 million in Napa County and $6 million in Yolo County, Wall said.
He said counties with a closer comparison to Lake County for sales tax revenue include Siskiyou, Tehama, San Benito, Colusa, Glenn and Amador.
Wall said Paratransit Services reported increasing wages by 23.1 percent since 2007.
Among the riders the board heard from was Mendocino College political science professor Phil Warf, who because of a health issue had to stop driving. He's been taking Lake Transit buses from his Upper Lake home to Mendocino College in Ukiah until the strike hit.
“It's been a really great thing for me,” he said, adding that many college students also use the bus.
Warf was upset that the Lake Transit Board wasn't taking action, telling board members that they should be acting on behalf of the public, not Paratransit Services.
Gleason told the board that the union wanted binding arbitration. He said the “fiction” Paratransit Services is putting forth about the restoration of services will only prolong the suffering for riders. He suggested it could take months before services are fully restored.
“We call on the Lake Transit Authority to join us in this remedy to restore transit service to the people of this county,” he said.
Roger Elliott, a striking union member who has been a driver for Lake Transit since February 2009, recounted the long process of learning the job, which he estimated took about a year and a half.
“This job is all about on the job training and learning as you go,” he said, adding, “When they send a new driver out, that's when the learning process begins.”
Driver and union negotiator Don Joachimstaler said the workers previously had step increases in a contract with Laidlaw before Paratransit Services took over.
Due to the bad economy, he said, the union agreed to give up the step increases temporarily when negotiating in 2010. He said the understanding was the step increases eventually would be restored, but they haven't been, and the union has said that the step increases are a major sticking point.
Joachimstaler said the drivers know their riders' life stories and work with them daily. He accused Paratransit Services of holding the county hostage.
“To do this job, you do have to be committed to it,” said Elliott, returning to the podium. “At the very end of the day, you're responsible for people's lives.”
Elliott, who works full-time, said he is one of only five Lake Transit employees who carries the full insurance package, and he can't afford to add his wife to it.
He said bringing in new employees won't solve the issues, as the problems will still remain. Elliott added that he can't count all the people he's seen come and go from jobs at Lake Transit.
When Miranda asked the board if it would take action, Board member Chuck Leonard responded that he was amazed that the union would ask someone from the outside to get involved in the situation.
“It doesn't make sense for us to get involved in something like,” said Leonard, adding that they needed to go through the negotiation process.
Luiz said he wanted to see the situation resolved quickly, noting he has met with both sides over the last few weeks. “I know there are problems here that need to be fixed.”
Noting that the services really affect people's lives, Luiz said he's a fan of living wages and honoring contracts, and pointed to the large spectrum of people who use the services.
Board member Jim Comstock, a Lake County supervisor, commended the drivers for their work. “You are dedicated, good people. There is no question about it.”
Comstock said he wanted to see service restored soon so the workers can get back to the job. But he said that the contract with Paratransit Services prohibited them from getting involved.
“Let's cool down, figure this out and make it work,” he said.
In her report to the board, Scheffer said Paratransit Services wants to restore transit services as quickly and safely as possible, and is on track with training and credentialing to fully restore all routes after the start of September.
“We're not resting. People are not taking days off,” she said.
Outside after the meeting's discussion on Miranda's requested item, Gleason spoke to workers and said that they should keep in mind the names of the elected officials on the board so that they could vote against them when they come up for their respective elections.
The union also is suggesting that it will go to Sacramento to lobby to have funds that support Paratransit Services' Lake Transit contract cut off.
“This is probably going to be a long fight,” Gleason told union members.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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