MTA, UNIONS ARRIVE AT EARLY AGREEMENTS MAYOR HAILS TENTATIVE PACTS AFFECTING 7,000.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH AND RACHEL URANGA Staff Writers

After three crippling strikes in the past 12 years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and unions representing about 7,000 mechanics, bus drivers and clerks reached agreement Tuesday ahead of their contract deadline, avoiding another employee walkout.

Details of the tentative contracts were not released, but the wage increases -- which some said could have placed the financially strapped MTA further in the red -- were said to be ``fiscally responsible'' and less than the 5 percent cost-of-living increase.

After the acrimonious standoffs of the past, the MTA, unions and board Chairman Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the agreement historic and proof that a new, more respectful negotiating style embraced by the mayor and the MTA could work.

``We've reached an accord that is both fair to our employees and fiscally responsible to the (MTA),'' Villaraigosa said during a news conference, surrounded by union and MTA officials. ``There are hundreds of thousands of Angelenos who rely on mass transit every day, and I can tell them that the buses will continue to roll and the trains will keep on running without interruption.''

Villaraigosa's one-year term as chairman of the board will expire Saturday, and observers say the former labor negotiator had pushed the MTA and unions to make a deal before he passed the leadership role to county Supervisor Gloria Molina.

The MTA has had 10 strikes in the past 40 years. Three of the past four labor negotiating cycles have resulted in strikes, including a 35-day walkout in 2003 and a 32-day strike called by the drivers in 2000 that left 1 million riders stranded without buses and trains and cost the region an estimated $140 million.

At the center of the 2003 strike was the union's struggle to maintain its strong health care coverage, an issue negotiators said remained a sticking point.

``This is quite significant for MTA given the contentious labor negotiations history,'' said Kent Wong, director of the Center for Labor Research and Education.

As in years past, the relationship between the MTA and the unions has been strained by the agency's financial problems. But keenly aware of earlier failures in negotiations, the MTA, with the backing of the mayor and unions, pursued ``interest-based'' negotiations, a softer approach to contract talks than the two have taken in the past.

Under the interest-based method, the MTA and the three unions came to the table with the stated, mutual goal of finding a salary that would retain good workers, while still fitting into the agency's budget instead of just presenting demands.

And with the help of a negotiator -- hired for a contract of up to $522,000 -- the unions and MTA were able to reach agreement in four months. The three unions must still approve the contract but top union officials say they expect full support of their membership.

MTA Deputy Chief Officer John Catoe, the agency's lead negotiator, would not discuss wage increases, but he said the agency and unions were able to reach agreements on some sticky issues involving bus drivers' promotions and breaks.

``Today is a great day for the employees of this organization because they can focus on the job that we must do in providing mobility in Los Angeles County,'' he said.

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

[phone]