Corvallis bus drivers veer toward strike

CORVALLIS, OREGON - Bus operators in the City of Corvallis and Corvallis School District are closer to a strike after Laidlaw Inc., the Canadian-based company that has the contract to provide transit service here, barely moved on its proposal to members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757.

In a mediated session Oct. 26, Laidlaw added 15 cents over two years to its last and final offer a week earlier. The latest offer would boost hourly wages 75 cents over two years. However, most of the operators make only $6.65 an hour, so their wages still would be far behind those of bus operators in similar-size cities.

Ron Heintzman, president of Local 757, described the new "final offer" as "insignificant," but is willing to go to any length to avoid a strike.

Heintzman is concerned because the multi-billion-dollar Laidlaw, which recently announced plans to buy Greyhound Lines Inc., insists on changing insurance plans.

Local 757 maintains the plan will hurt drivers next year, although it does reduce premiums the first year. That's because Laidlaw says it will pay only 5 percent of any insurance premium hikes in the second and third years of the proposal. Heintzman said insurance companies frequently sell a low first-year premium policy to companies facing labor disputes. Once a contract is signed, the premiums skyrocket and, typically, many families can no longer afford health insurance.

Heintzman expects the drivers will reject the offer and re-authorize a strike vote at a meeting to be held Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Salbasgeon Suites, 1730 NW 9th Ave., Corvallis. Drivers voted 46-2 on Oct. 14 for strike authorization after rejecting a contract proposal 47-1.

Drivers are reluctant to strike but feel they have few options in order to convince Laidlaw that full-time workers deserve to earn a living wage, especially when the company is reporting record profits � most of which are earned from U.S. taxpayers. Laidlaw conducts 90 percent of its business in the United States, mostly by contracting with public agencies and school districts.

Recently, the Internal Revenue Service found the company guilty of avoiding taxes by transferring money to Holland and Ireland. The assessment - $50 million - is expected to rise to as much as $500 million.

"That's a lot of money to shelter," said Heintzman. "They can't find an additional $2 an hour for drivers, when they are taking more than half the money they earn from Corvallis out of the country."