TRANSIT TALKS RESUME OFFICIALS HOPEFUL ABOUT CHANCES.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew and Benjamin Parke Staff Writers

Clear on the issues before them, transit and union leaders will return to the bargaining table today in an effort to reach a settlement in the week-old bus and subway strike.

``Beginning (today) negotiations will resume to impress upon you their commitment that Los Angeles will be rolling again,'' said Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Los Angeles, a legislative ``fact finder'' brought in Saturday to pare down the issues and expedite negotiations.

James Williams, head of the United Transportation Union, and MTA board Chairwoman Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke met for ``several hours'' Saturday to begin talks in earnest, officials said.

Added Wesson: ``We're optimistic the buses will be rolling soon. We're concerned about residents of this county who can't go to work, go to school, go to the doctor, or go to medical clinics.''

Union leaders ordered the Sept. 16 walkout after rejecting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposals for controlling costs, particularly overtime. The transit agency says it faces a $438 million operating deficit over the next 10 years unless it cuts costs or raises fares.

An estimated half-million daily riders throughout Los Angeles County have struggled to find other means of transportation. Businesses in the San Fernando Valley and beyond have demanded a speedy settlement, lest the strike drag through a second week.

Stephen J. Smith, director of the Department of Industrial Relations, who leads a state mediating team involved in the dispute, said Saturday ``there was no question that the negotiations are going to go on in good faith by (today).''

MTA and union officials representing 6,700 bus and subway workers agreed Saturday to not only resume negotiations, but to keep the specifics of their discussions out of the press.

Wesson and Smith, at a press conference Saturday evening, said a news blackout was necessary in order to facilitate the talks by not having conflicting reports in the news media.

``We got a handle on the issues,'' Wesson, whose role as fact finder was made at the request of Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys.

``But a real breakthrough occurred when the heads of both parties sat down in a relaxed circumstance and discussed the issues,'' he said. ``There is a commitment from both sides.''

A union spokesman Saturday declined to make any comment on the negotiations. An MTA spokesman said negotiators were eager to see drivers quickly return to their buses and subway.