A crowd of rideless UCSC students and workers along with striking MetroBus drivers and reporters descended upon Mike Rotkins’ office Monday to ask that he give them rides home.

They demanded that he take steps to end the bus strike. Rotkin explained that the situation was 'complicated' and we had to be 'practical.' For the first time, Rotkin stated publicly that he had voted to accept the 6 month state-mediated agreement that would have averted a strike. Making this mission a success.

On Monday September 26th The Board of Directors made the unprecedented decision to reject a state mediated agreement it’s own negotiating team had brokered with UTU Local 23 – the bus driver’s union. It is a sign of negligent mismanagement that the Board would override it’s own negotiating team knowing full well this would percipitate a strike. Moreover, the rejected deal was only a temporary six-month agreement holding the old contract in place, and meant to avert work-stoppage (by lockout or strike) until negotiations continued in April. The Board’s claim that the deal was too costly rings false – six months of the old agreement would not have been too costly for the public, especially if it kept the buses running. We hold the Board of Directors completely responsible for our lack of bus service.

Since the strike began Tuesday, UCSC students and workers have been struggling to find ways to get to campus. Many who live in town have had to hitchhike, carpool or commandeer bicycles. Some have been stranded and forced to take taxis they cannot afford or had to walk alone on unlit streets. Workers have been reprimanded for being late to work. This is exactly the scenario UTU local 23, the state meditator and even the District’s negotiating team was trying to avoid. The Board’s rush to pompously override the state mediator and their own negotiating team, deny us public transportation, and treat Santa Cruz’s bus drivers with such callous disrespect will be answered for.

(for what it's worth: we made lead story in the sentinel: www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/October/04/local/stories/01local.htm)





The event was organized by UCSC’s Student and Worker Coalition for Justice.