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March 18th 2005 • Printer version
Wayne Morse Center director puts together team
that ends Lane Transit District
Strike
The streets seemed calmer without Lane Transit District buses
maneuvering in and out of traffic. But that was the only good thing
about the March 7 strike by local bus drivers and the breakdown in
negotiations that preceded it.
Bargaining for Lane County bus drivers Amalgamated Transit Union
Local 757 - had been dragging on since spring 2004 until talks stopped
dead in December. The drivers were fighting for wage increases and to
hold the line on contract language and health benefits. The LTD board
was concerned about skyrocketing health insurance costs and wanted to
implement cost containment measures. Both sides were angry.
Wayne Morse Center Director Margaret
Hallock was worried. She was part of a community group that had managed
to delay the walk-out for a few weeks, but, clearly, they had not been
able to bring the two sides together.
The strike looked like it might continue with neither side giving an
inch and community patience wearing thin. Something more needed to be
done. And Hallock, who has been a key figure in Oregon labor circles
for 30 years, knew enough about the people, the politics, and the
process to do it, if it could be done at all.
Hallock directs the independent center at the law school endowed to
carry on the work and spirit of the Oregon Senator Wayne Morse, a
former dean of the law school. In 2003 and 2004, she served as a senior
member of Gov. KulongoskiÃs policy team, working on labor issues and
workforce education and development. Before that, she directed the UO
Labor Education and Research Center for twelve years. In the 1980s, she
chaired OregonÃs pay equity commission and was a founding member of
founding member of Oregon's Workforce Quality Council.
Hallock started to push the idea of a community component to mediation.
I talked to the mediator, Wendy Greenwald, who said she was out of
ideas and was enthusiastic about trying a new plan, Hallock said.
Hallock recruited Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and set up a Community
Mediation Panel. She asked Lane Metro Partnership Director Jack Roberts
an alumnus of the law school - and Eugene attorney Art Johnson to
join them. David Piercy, a former Eugene school district deputy
superintendent with negotiations experience, completed the team.
Securing permission from the ATU and the LTD board took some talking,
Hallock said, but both groups agreed to take part. Once all
was in place, mediator Greenwalt began what turned into 30 hours of
negotiations.
It worked. We listened to both sides. By Thursday night (March 10) we had
the
main concept agreed to, Hallock said.
In the end, The district moved to a preferred provider health plan
with some cost containment features while the workers got a safety net
during the transition to a new type of health plan.
The buses started rolling again on Monday, March 14.
As you might guess, I am extremely happy about the outcome of the
transit negotiations, Hallock said. Jack Roberts, in particular,
made this a success, but we all played a part. It isnÃt often that one
can intervene and have it work perfectly!
FIND OUT MORE:
Eugene Weekly
Eugene Register-Guard
-Eliza Schmidkunz
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