ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Bus drivers in the Twin Cities planned to walk off the job early Thursday after contract talks broke down between union leaders and the transit authority.þþAn estimated 75,000 daily passengers in and around St. Paul and Minneapolis rely on Metro Transit.þþDrivers will go on strike at 2 a.m. Thursday, said union president Ron Lloyd, which should give commuters a day to make other plans.þþContract talks, which began in May, broke down Tuesday morning. No new talks were scheduled.þþLloyd said there wasn't a particular sticking point that caused talks to break down. But Peter Bell, chairman of the Metropolitan Council, which runs the regional bus system, said the central issue is health care.þþ``The bottom line is when we said that was our best, last, final offer, we really meant that was our best, last, final offer,'' Bell said.þþThe Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 represents about 2,200 drivers, mechanics, bus cleaners and clerical workers.þþþþ
Source: NY Times
