TARRYTOWN, N.Y., March 28 - Talks resumed late Monday afternoon between negotiators for the striking Bee-Line bus workers and the company after union leaders softened their stance in the 25-day strike, saying they would be flexible in their demands and asking the company to return to the negotiating table.þþBut the talks stretched into the night, and by 11 p.m., the sides adjourned without having broken the impasse in a strike that has hobbled Westchester County bus service. One major point of disagreement, the age at which workers can retire and receive a full pension, remained unresolved, and the night ended with the sides saying they would continue the negotiations on Tuesday. þþRoger Toussaint, president of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, had said at a news conference Monday afternoon that union negotiators would be willing to compromise on the remaining issues that separated the sides, including the retirement age. þþÿWe are flexible,ÿ he said, speaking in a heavy rainfall during a boisterous union rally outside the Westchester County government building in White Plains. ÿWe opposed their final offer but we said we are prepared to go back to the table.ÿ þþHe and his entourage of negotiators drove to the Doubletree Hotel here, and were joined about two hours later by representatives of, Liberty Lines, which operates the bus service under a county contract. þþThe company's decision in the afternoon to resume the talks appeared to be a concession. In a statement earlier in the day, the company said it would not continue negotiations unless the union submitted ÿa reasonable counterproposalÿ to its latest offer, made on March 15. The union, however, did not submit a counteroffer but made a telephone call inviting company officials to the Doubletree. That gesture alone seemed to be adequate. Talks resumed about 5 p.m.þþDean Bender, a spokesman for Liberty Lines, said that during the conversations on Monday night, the company had formally offered the union a cooling-off period during which bus operations would resume as negotiations proceeded. The company also offered an immediate wage increase of 2 1/2 percent with possible retroactive wage increases. But the union rejected the proposal, Mr. Bender said. þþThe strike, involving 568 union members, has halted bus service in the Westchester County, forcing some 50,000 daily riders to scramble for alternative transportation like car pooling and taxis. The strike has also caused a drop in school attendance and has forced some people to miss work. County officials say that two-thirds of the riders use the buses to get to work and that most of those passengers make less than $35,000 a year.þþThe biggest impediment to a settlement is the issue of retirement age. The current contract allows full retirement benefits at 62 after 20 years of service. A worker can retire as young as 57 but would receive only 76 percent of the full pension. þþIn its latest contract proposal, Liberty Lines offered a full pension at age 60, but the union is seeking full benefits at 57.þþDuring negotiations Monday night, the union revised its demand to allow retirement at 57, with 97 percent of the full pension, according to Mr. Bender.þþÿWe are deeply disappointed at the union's refusal to negotiate in a meaningful manner,ÿ the spokesman said in a prepared statement during a break in the talks about 10:30 p.m. þþSeveral bus drivers and union officials who attended the rally argued that an earlier retirement age was essential because their work was quite difficult and caused many drivers to die within a few years of retiring.þþDrivers cited the stressful combination of traffic, abusive customers and pollution, and several claimed to have suffered ailments that they attributed to their work, including heart attacks, hypertension, sciatica and irritable bowel syndrome.þþÿThe reason we want it is, you can't live long,ÿ declared John Catoliato, a bus driver in Yonkers. ÿI have 25 years of service, I'm 48 years old and I feel like I'm 80.ÿþþMr. Toussaint said several private bus companies operating in New York City had union contracts that offered full retirement benefits to workers who retire at 57. þþUnion officials have accused the company of preparing to hire replacement workers, but Mr. Bender denied this. He said the company had been training only workers hired before the strike whose training was suspended during its initial stages.þþIn a show of support for Local 100, representatives from other unions attended the rally in White Plains on Monday, including teachers and firefighters.þþLocal 100 has members who work for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and developments in Yonkers were being closely watched by those workers and by officials at the M.T.A. The contract of the authority's unionized workers expires on Dec. 15, a spokesman for the agency said.þþþ
Source: NY Times
