NewsHour Links

Verizon telephone workers go on strike.

Boeing airline employees go on strike.

Northwest Airlines pilots go on strike.

Transportation Issues

Outside Links:
Extra is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.

LA Times: coverage of the strikes

A Bus Strike Affects Students

Bus and rail operators of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles, CA went on strike Sept. 16. They are demanding higher overtime pay, changes in work rules and other issues. The MTA is the second largest bus system in the nation. Below are the stories of two students affected by the strike.

By Jillian Ballard, 16
Wildcat Staff Writer
University High School, Los Angeles

Most of the talk about the strike was about its effect on low-income people and people who work 9-to-5 jobs and have no cars. But what about students who have to get to school and back home every day? In LA, there are few yellow school buses: most students rides the public bus.

A majority of students have jobs they need to get to after school. And many have to take the bus.

“I understand that the bus drivers feel that they are getting a raw deal, but I wonder if the drivers and the MTA station have figured out what an impact the strike is having on students,” said Meghan McKearney, a senior who rides the Metro buses daily.

“I have no way to get to school, and I have to sleep at other people’s houses. I’m afraid that one day I won’t have a way to get home or even to work.”

This is completely unfair to students and parents who have to be at work before 8 am. The students have to wake up earlier to figure out how they are going to get to school that day. Some people are even taking taxis, which can cost nearly $30 more than the Metro bus.

Taxi companies and other bus lines were swamped by an increased demand over the weekend.

Many people who rely on mass transit cannot afford the costly alternative and were forced to stay home this weekend.

Some people haven't come to school because they couldn’t get a ride or couldn’t figure out how to get to school.

Junior Rose Johnson rides the metro red line “I don’t like the strike because I have to wake up earlier to get to school," she says. "I get home later because I have to wait for my parents to get off of work. How come they couldn’t have done this strike during the summer and figure everything out before school starts?”

Perhaps the negotiations now underway will help resolve the problem so the buses can resume their routes, and people can get back to their normal lives.

The point is, the buses need to start running again. Too many students' futures are being jeopardized.

Striking MTA Drivers Suffering Along With Passengers

By Kimberly Valentine, 17
University High School, Los Angeles

The bus strike not only affects the commuters and businesses of Los Angeles, it also affects the MTA bus operators and their families.

My father is an MTA bus operator who is on strike daily; however, his pay is decreasing drastically every day he strikes. On a normal day, my father would make over $100, but now that he is on strike, he is getting by with very little.

This is forcing my family to make adjustments in our lifestyle that were not expected.

Also, the uncertainty of not knowing when the strike will end has caused my father to look for a part-time job so that we can continue to live comfortably. This means that our family’s level of comfort will change. I will not see my father at the times that I am used to seeing him, and he will not be able to spend as much quality time with us if he must also work a part-time job. There are things that we do together on a daily basis that we will no longer be able to do.

The point that I am trying to make is that the bus operators went on strike to put pressure on the MTA so that their working conditions may be improved. The bus operators are not just striking for a raise but for more security, better hours, more operators and numerous options that could only help them to be more efficient in doing their jobs.

The bus operators know that the commuters hate getting on crowded buses or when the bus is late, and that is why they have to strike.

Just keep in mind the bus conditions before the strike and after. Also, don’t forget that there are families that each of those bus operators support.

Editor's Note: Kimberly's father has since been hired as a limousine driver so that he could continue to support his family, even though his new job pays less.

What do you think? Are strikes that make life difficult for thousands of people wrong? Should customers put up with temporary inconveniences if it means conditions will improve for thousands of workers?

Click here for past buzzes...