MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) – The people who drive and fix Milwaukee County transit buses have voted to go on strike — but not before one final day of talks with a federal mediator.
93 percent of about 750 union members have voted against a four-year contract offer. 92 percent voted in favor of a strike that could begin at 3 a.m. Wednesday without a last second deal.
County officials say bus service will be halted, and non-union employees will not try to keep the routes going.
A strike would come at an especially inopportune time, with thousands of visitors in town for Summerfest — billed as the world’s largest annual music festival.
Union president James Macon said all Summerfest riders would be serve early Wednesday morning, before the 3 a.m. strike deadline.
The union is against the county’s plan to add part time drivers which they don’t have now. Full timers fear that they, too, would eventually be cut to part time and lose fringe benefits.
Milwaukee County transit managing director Dan Boehm says the proposed contract provides for the system’s “future sustainability” while rewarding current drivers for their work.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
