Deal struck to end L.A. transit strike

LOS ANGELES - Negotiators reached a settlement Tuesday in the monthlong transit strike that has stranded nearly a half-million bus and subway riders and hit particularly hard at Los Angeles' working poor.

The deal, which was to be presented to the union rank-and-file for ratification Tuesday evening, could have buses rolling Wednesday and subways back in service Thursday.

''I'm fed up with the strike. I need the bus to come back. I cannot do anything,'' said Magdalena Iglesias, 31, who uses public transportation to attend English classes at an adult school. She also said she paid people as much as $12 per trip to take her son to school.

''They've made us suffer for a month. A lot of people I know have lost their jobs,'' she said in Spanish.

The 4,300 bus drivers and rail operators represented by the United Transportation Union walked out Sept. 16 against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The breakthrough came after a marathon, all-night bargaining session assisted by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

''We had just about given up after all night long, then we were awakened this morning by some angel that blessed us out of somewhere with a fresh start, a fresh idea and we shared it with the MTA leadership,'' Jackson said.

The terms of the tentative contract were not immediately released.

The walkout sent 450,000 daily riders scrambling to get to work, school, doctors' appointments and grocery stores. People drove, bicycled, got rides from friends or took advantage of illegal rides offered by entrepreneurs.

The MTA offered some bus service on ''lifeline'' routes, but most of its 2,275 buses and all 59 miles of light rail and subway were idled.

The strike worsened the traffic on the area's clogged freeways, but otherwise there were few signs that there was even a strike going on, reflecting the fact that Los Angeles' movers and shakers drive instead of using public transit.

Most affected were the poor and minorities.

While only about 7 percent of commuters in Los Angeles County use public transit, 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.

''We regret the hardship and inconvenience that it has caused to transit in Los Angeles County, but I can assure you our bargaining with UTU was necessary to protect the long-term financial interest of the MTA and continue to maintain and expand service to our customers,'' said County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

The last Los Angeles transit strikes lasted nine days in 1994 and five days in 1982. The current strike was the third-longest in city history, behind 68- and 36-day walkouts in the 1970s.

''It's been very, very hard for me. I'm just buying my home,'' said Roselyn Trone, a 49-year-old bus driver from Fontana. The lenders ''don't care what's going on, they just want the mortgage. It's taken 36 years to buy the home. I was fearful.''

Meanwhile, talks resumed Tuesday between Los Angeles County and a union representing 47,000 of its employees. The county's chief administrative officer, David Janssen, said he hopes to reach an agreement by midweek.

The Service Employees International Union Local 660 called a general strike a week ago, but suspended it one day later at the request of Cardinal Roger Mahony, who said it was hurting the poor.

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On the Net:

MTA: http://www.mta.net

United Transportation Union: http://www.utu.org