STRIKE 1, STRIKE 2 ...; SOME TO RETURN TO MTA TODAY.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

MTA unions representing mechanics and supervisors are expected to return to work today after a 17-day strike, but buses and trains remain idled by walkouts from the bus and rail drivers union.

Neil Silver, president of the mechanics' Amalgamated Transit Union, said they will cross drivers' picket lines and return to their jobs because Gov. Gray Davis signed labor-backed legislation over the weekend to protect MTA workers.

``This bold action removed a major divisive issue in the dispute with the MTA and will strengthen our members' futures,'' Silver said.

``I'm asking my members to return to work Tuesday morning,'' he said. ``We will give the MTA seven days in which to bargain in good faith and bring negotiations to a successful conclusion.''

He said the 1,861 bus and rail mechanics will return to work because Davis signed Senate Bill 1101, extending Metropolitan Transportation Authority contract provisions to any new regional transit zone such as one proposed to take over MTA bus lines in the San Fernando Valley.

SB 1101 dealt with some of the key issues at stake in the MTA strike, now in its third week, which has stranded some 450,000 weekday commuters.

MTA spokesman Marc Littman said the MTA will allow the mechanics to come back to work today.

``The advantage of having the mechanics back is they can get the buses and trains ready to roll,'' he said. They will clean, fuel, repair and inspect buses, he said.

Rail mechanics will slowly turn the power back on while making a series of safety checks to restore service, he said.

The maintenance supervisors will help get the systems ready, but MTA officials are unsure what the bus supervisors will do since there are no drivers.

The mechanics' last payday was Friday, and they will get their next paychecks Oct. 13.

If the drivers' United Transportation Union and MTA reach a deal, Littman said, 60 percent to 70 percent of the bus service could be restored within 24 hours but it would take two to three days for mechanics to perform all the checks on trains.

Mayor Richard Riordan, a member of the MTA board, expressed confidence that an end to the strike could be drawing closer.

``My compliments to the ATU,'' Riordan said. ``I think it's a step forward toward getting the buses rolling in the city.''

He said he felt ``more optimistic than he has ever been'' that an agreement could be reached, perhaps as early as Monday night, with UTU negotiators.

However, UTU chairman James Williams, who represents 4,282 drivers, said he thought the ATU's decision to return to work was ``a mistake.''

``I am still hopeful of reaching an agreement,'' Williams said, ``and while the other unions go back to work, I'll still meet and negotiate and see where it takes us.''

In addition to the ATU mechanics, the other workers returning to work today are 494 bus and rail supervisors in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

``We wish to express our gratitude to Gov. Gray Davis for signing SB 1101,'' said Oran McMichael, AFSCME field service director. ``A major step was taken in removing critical issues from the bargaining process. We understand the governor took a very difficult political action.''

Silver said that after the seven-day voluntary cooling-off period, the ATU reserves the right to take whatever actions are necessary if satisfactory contracts are not in place.

``We're going back to work for seven days. If the MTA doesn't get off the dime and doesn't get some of the subcontracting and regressive bargaining off the table, in seven days there will be a strike here the likes of which the MTA has never seen before.''

Since the strike began Sept. 16, unions representing other MTA employees - including the ATU - have refused to cross picket lines.

Riordan, who was spending his third day at the Pasadena Hilton talking with both sides to try to help reach a deal, said the negotiations Monday were focused on work rules, wages and pension benefits.

``I think they (unions) have come some distance on the work rules - we don't feel nearly enough - but at least some progress has been made,'' Riordan said. ``And I think we've come some ways - but in their view not far enough - in redoing the pension system.''

State Department of Industrial Relations Director Steve Smith said the signing of SB 1101 ``certainly sped up the pace of the negotiations and has taken one of the major issues off the table.''

Also on Monday, Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavsky - who serve on the MTA board - said they were committed to holding a tough line with the striking drivers and mechanics.

``We aren't talking about much, but we are talking about keeping the MTA solvent,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``The strategy we have is to try to get $150 million over 10 years. That's only $15 million a year and all we're talking about here with the unions is $23 million over three years.''

Antonovich said his greater concern is with some of the work rules that add to the costs of running the agency.

Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report.