Orange County para-transit drivers go on strike after company proposes forced overtime and unpaid lunches
Dozens of Orange County clients with disabilities left their adult day program before having lunch after news broke that the bus drivers that transport them would go on strike Wednesday afternoon.
"A lot of our participants are in electric wheelchairs which may not fit in a car so they have to have access to be able to go from home to movies, home to here, home to wherever they may go," said Reimagine program director Eun Kim. "This is really [affecting] them. And the families are scrambling to figure out what to do right now."
The Orange County Transportation Authority contracts with a third-party company called Trans Dev to operate its OC Access program. Access serves people with disabilities, the elderly and those who do not drive. Riders must call for reservations.
This program has come to a halt after Teamster officials announced 250 drivers planned to walk off the job because the company proposed forced overtime and unpaid lunches lasting as long as 2.5 hours.
"First Transit is negotiating with the Teamsters 952 and remains hopeful that we will come to an amicable resolution soon with minimal disruption to the riding public," said spokesperson Mitun Seguin.
Rider Sharon Schwartz has used Access many times and said several neighbors, who have disabilities and are on a fixed income, use the service.
"That's the other big thing, people think you can just use Uber or Lyft. I mean I don't make that much money," said Schwartz. "I can't do Uber or Lyft, so I can only imagine other people that are here won't be able to do that either.
Those who work with the disabled community worry that the people need the help the most will be hurt by a bus strike that currently has no end date.
"Unfortunately, caregivers... and other support staff can't always transport them due to liability insurance and other things," said independent living instructor Mellanie Ramsey. "But we're also to promote their own independence — being able to go grocery shopping, going to the movies, meeting friends, going to school."
