CLEARLAKE — Teamsters, Paratransit employees and members of the community gathered Friday at noon in front of City Hall to picket, address the media and call on county leaders and Lake Transit to take action on the public transportation issue.
About forty people gathered with signs in hand and shouted slogans at a meeting where Local Teamsters Local Union No. 665 Secretary Treasurer Mark Gleason read a written statement.
“The fact is that the service Lake County residents enjoyed before the strike will not be restored unless the strike is settled,” Gleason said.
Gleason”s statement was a call to action aimed at residents and elected officials to put pressure on Paratransit to provide all the services they offered before the strike. The statement came as an attempt to bring Paratransit Services back to the bargaining table.
Gleason also reiterated that drivers on strike will not return to work until a “real and sincere offer from the management is made.”
Paratransit Services began hiring permanent replacement personnel earlier this week to address issues with limited services caused by understaffing as a result of the strike, which began Monday, Executive Vice President of Paratransit Services Christie Scheffer said Thursday. Scheffer could not specify how many employees have been hired so far, but services are expected to return to normal sometime in early September after enough new hires are trained and screened.
Marilyn Long, who worked in Lake County transportation for approximately 11 years and nearly four and a half for Paratransit Services before she was terminated last year, said that it takes about a month for new hires to be properly trained, drug tested and screened before they can begin working. She added that, on average, Paratransit Services had about 30 drivers on the payroll during the time she was employed.
Routes one, four, five and six currently run with reduced hours, and all other lines have been canceled.
Teamster President Ralph Miranda said that an offer the Teamsters would accept would be one that includes a 2.4-percent cost of living increase and the 10-step yearly increases, a similar offer to the one that was rejected by Paratransit Services during July 17 meetings.
The two entities are scheduled to return to negotiations Sept. 6, but so far, the only item on that agenda is healthcare benefits.
The Teamsters want to reduce the fraction of healthcare paid by employees from 25 percent to 15 percent for the new contract, Miranda said. Negotiations on healthcare options were postponed during the July meeting because of pending changes to insurance policies caused by Obamacare.
Miranda also said that BART personnel strikes in San Francisco will not affect the Paratransit strike in Lake County and that the two overlapping in time is coincidental.
Meanwhile, the strike in Lake County has no end in sight, and Teamsters are willing to strike until a deal is reached, Miranda said.
“Where going to go get a Christmas tree right now, (we”ll be here) as long as it takes,” Miranda said.
Isaac Brambila is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
