LAKE COUNTY — Lake Transit drivers voted today unconditionally to return to work and will be ready to do so starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow.
The drivers decided to return to work after realizing that restoration of full services was months away, according to statement released by Teamsters Local Union No. 665 Secretary Treasurer Mark Gleason.
Though the workers will report to Lake Transit offices ready to work tomorrow, it is unclear whether they will return to work immediately.
Paratransit Services has a short window of time to decide whether they allow the striking workers to return to work, Gleason said. Workers may not Know whether they can return to work until Monday.
Union attorneys notified Paratransit Services of the decision taken by the drivers at 2:36 p.m.
The vote came after a Lake Transit Board of Directors meeting Wednesday in which union leaders did not receive the support from county leaders they sought, Teamster President Ralph Miranda said after the meeting.
The employees would return to work with an extension of the previously expired contract, which was signed in 2009, and wait for a new contract offer from Paratransit Services, Gleason said. If the contract with the 2.2-percent increase is offered, it is likely the Teamsters and employees would accept it.
With the drivers” vote, the strike, which started July 29, may see its end tomorrow morning.
A full story will appear in Saturday”s Record-Bee.
