LOS ANGELES COUNTY : MTA Bus, Train Operators Ratify 3-Year Contracts

Bus and train operators and clerks employed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have ratified new three-year contracts that freeze pay for the first year but guarantee small raises thereafter.

Balloting of the United Transportation Union, which represents about 4,400 bus and train drivers, resulted in a 2,330-419 vote in favor of an agreement reached by the union and MTA negotiators before drivers struck in support of mechanics last month, officials said Friday.

The contract calls for a wage freeze the first year. The drivers, whose average annual salary is $50,000, will receive a 30-cent hourly raise the second year and a 25-cent hourly increase the final year. Cost-of-living adjustments will be suspended until the third year.

To help close a $126-million operating deficit, the MTA will reduce its contribution toward health benefits from $570 a person to $530. But the level of benefits union members receive will remain the same, union spokesman Goldy Norton said.

Limited subcontracting--a thorny issue during negotiations--will also be allowed on highly subsidized bus lines.

Clerks with the 660-member Transportation Communications Union also ratified a similar pact earlier this week, with a 1.6% raise the second year, then a 1.3% increase the final year. Cost-of-living adjustments will be suspended until the third year.

The MTA’s contribution to their health benefits will drop from $520 to $507, but members will continue to receive the same package.