Extension Sought on MTA Talks

Hoping to avert a strike, the state attorney general’s office is expected to seek a court order today extending labor talks between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its mechanics union.

A state lawyer will petition a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to order a 60-day cooling-off period during which the union could not strike and the agency could not lock out its workers. Such petitions are generally granted, observers say.

About 2,000 MTA mechanics represented by the Amalgamated Transportation Union have been working without a contract since January. The union says talks have reached an impasse on wages and medical benefits.

The MTA believes that the talks have not reached a breaking point and that there is no need for court intervention. “The parties just need to sit down and bargain,� MTA spokesman Rick Jager said.

Union President Neil Silver said that if a cooling-off period is not ordered, his shop stewards could initiate a walkout as early as Thursday. A strike would effectively cripple the MTA, the nation’s third-largest transit agency. The agency provides more than 1 million transit trips each weekday in Los Angeles County.

Even if the talks are extended, Silver predicted there would be little movement toward a settlement. He said a strike was likely in two months.

“At this point, the way things are, it’s going to happen, and it’s going to be the biggest strike L.A. has ever seen,� Silver said. “We had a strike in Los Angeles for 10 weeks in 1974. This one will top it.�

The MTA is also in tough negotiations with its drivers. Last month, a judge ordered a 60-day cooling-off period in contract talks between the transit agency and the United Transportation Union, which represents about 4,000 drivers.