Pace drivers end strike after half-day work stoppage

This morning's Pace strike has been called off, and officials expect all 22 affected routes to be back up and running by 3 p.m. this afternoon.The 4 a.m. walkout by 215 Pace bus drives and mechanics ended just abruptly as it began. The strike left hundreds of riders stranded at cold terminals and rainy bus stops during the morning rush."It was a complete and total surprise," said Pace director T.J. Ross. "I honestly don't know why they chose this course of action."Workers at the Des Plaines garage, Pace's third largest division, voted down a contract agreement early this month and voted for a strike, a move Pace officials considered to be perfunctory after rejecting an agreement.Teamsters Local 731 officials had asked for federal mediation and Pace officials agreed to it.The union has been without a contract since December of last year."Our fight is not with the commuters and we are sympathetic to their needs," said Terrence J. Hancock, union president, this morning.Pace officials threatened to take court action today to force the employees back to work, but before that occurred, the union agreed to go back to the bargaining table under federal mediation next week.The walkout shutdown routes carrying about 11,000 riders in a area stretching from Schaumburg to Chicago. A complete list is below.Ross said it would take some time for workers to leave the picket line, change clothes and return to work. But he expected all routes to be running by 3 p.m.None of Pace's other eight unions joined in on the strike.During the morning rush at the CTA and Pace terminal in Rosemont -- where many of the affected lines originate -- about 60 people were milling around in the damp and cold weather after just learning of the strike."Oh my God -- what to do?" said Fatou Ndoye of Chicago, when a reporter told her of the strike.Many were clearly upset."This is ridiculous," said Annamarie Puente of Chicago, who works for a scaffolding company in Des Plaines."I watch the news in the morning, and I didn't hear anything about this," she said, blaming the transit agencies for not doing more to get the word out. "I'm stranded."Ross said Pace "could have done a better job" getting the word out to its riders, but the event was completely unexpected. Pace supervisors were visiting high-traffic stops and terminals to spread the word by about 5:30 a.m.Outside the Pace Des Plaines garage on Northwest Highway this morning, about 40 bus drivers and mechanics walked in a tight circle while thrusting strike signs into the air.The Teamsters took over the Des Plaines garage in February of 2006 from the Amalgamated Transit Union during a struggle over representation of Pace employees. The Teamsters also represent garages in Elgin and Joliet, but workers at those sites signed contracts in the last few years.The other Pace garages remain under the ATU, which also represents CTA workers.Neither Pace nor union officials would discuss the details of Des Plaines garage contract negotiations.However, the top pay scale for drivers is about $20 an hour and the workers contribute a "relatively minimal" amount toward health insurance, Ross said. The workers are under a 401K retirement plan and not a pension, like some other Pace garages.Ross said the sticking points included health insurance, wages and retirement benefits.Ross also said union negotiators called the tentative deal earlier this month a good one, but the membership apparently disagreed.Until later this afternoon, Ross said riders should consider any CTA or Metra alternatives that may be available. The CTA does accept Pace passes.The strike comes with Pace officials on the brink of enacting a "doomsday" budget that includes raising fares from $1.50 to $2 while canceling about 66 routes and laying off more than 200 employees.Those sweeping changes will come Jan. 20 if lawmakers fail to approve more than $300 million in new taxes to fill deficits at Pace as well as the CTA and Metra.Many Pace riders left in the cold today said they blame the lawmakers for the strike. Yet, Pace officials say the contract negotiations are unrelated to their budget problems."The people in Springfield need to solve it," said Rhan Randall, a plane fueler at O'Hare International Airport, while waiting for a bus that wasn't going to come at the Rosemont terminal.The affected routes include: the 250-O'Hare, 290-Touhy Avenue, 270-Milwaukee Avenue, 208-Golf Road, 209-Busse Highway, 210-Lincoln Avenue, 637-Wood Dale Rosemont CTA, 690-Arlington Heights Road, 694-Central Road-Mt. Prospect Station, 610-River Road-Prairie Stone, 221-Wolf Road, 223-Elk Grove-Rosemont CTA Station, 225-Central-Howard, 226 Oakton Street, 230 South Des Plaines, 234-Wheeling-Des Plaines, 240-Dee Road, 241-Greewood-Talcott,Route 250-Dempster Street, 215-Crawford-Howard, 272-Golf Mill-Westfield Shopping Town Hawthorne, 422-Linden CTA/Glenview/Northbrook Court and 423-Linden CTA-The Glen-Harlem CTA.Routes 423, 422 and 272 have partial service, meaning there will be less buses serving the line. Para-transit services are not affected.For additional route information call 836-7000 from any area code or visit www.pacebus.com.