Borough Bus Strike Still Looms

Queens commuters faced the possibility of a bus strike if union and City officials cannot resolve their differences by 12:01 a.m. the morning of Wed. March 20. Lawyers for the two groups met Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to avert the action, which could strand 120,000 area commuters.
The City would like to place Queens bus lines currently operated by three private companies up for bid. If the current owners lose the bid, their 3,000 employees could lose their jobs and countless retirees could lose their pensions. Currently there are no provisions in the contracts that protect the jobs and pensions if the routes change hands, and the union is seeking to change that.
The City Council is refusing to authorize the bid unless a clause protecting the jobs and pensions is included in the resolution .
"We are frustrated and our members are frustrated," said Roger Toussaint, the union president. He praised the City Councils stance, but said the Citys response to union concerns had so far been insufficient.
"The Mayor just disregarded [our concerns] and couldnt care less," Eddie Kay, a union spokesman, said of a March 15 meeting. "We dont have a problem with the bid," Kay explained. "We dont care who owns the companies as long as the jobs and pensions are guaranteed."
Tony Avella (D, Bayside), a City Councilman and chairman of the Councils Zoning and Franchise Subcommittee, has expressed his support for the unions concerns. "Some of these guys have worked for the [bus] companies for 30 years," said Avellas spokesman Jonathan Kott. "For them to lose their pensions thats not fair." Kott also said Avella hoped a strike could be averted "since it puts so many of our residents in a difficult position."
Tom Cocola, a Dept. of Transportation (DOT) spokesman, said that the DOT questioned the legality of including job and pension guarantees in the resolution authorizing the bid. He said that if the strike went into effect, the DOT would ask limosines, black cars and dollar vans to help cover the routes.