AC Transit 'Sick-Out': One Driver in Five Absent Yesterday. Same Expected Today.

Oakland North

Hope you brought a magazine...

​Union denies "sick-out" is taking place

If you're an AC Transit rider and your morning bus just isn't coming ... there may be a long walk in your future.

Following the imposition of a cost-saving contract, around 209 drivers -- 18 percent of the workforce -- simply didn't show up yesterday in an apparent "sick-out." More spotty service is anticipated for today with the same number of reported sick calls by drivers.

A judge on Friday ruled that the ongoing contract dispute between AC Transit and its unionized drivers will be sent to binding arbitration.

AC Transit issued an apology to riders and chided the drivers who "failed to show up or called in sick. ... just three days after winning a legal decision that grants them binding arbitration."

SF Weekly moments ago phoned the Amalgamated Transit Union No. 192; we were told no officers were present because they were "all with their lawyers getting ready to go back to court."

Questions about the sick-out induced a terse response: "There is no sick-out. Drivers weren't trained on their new routes." 

AC Transit is hoping a court injunction today will impose its new, truncated schedule.

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