Bus riders not happy with idea of possible strike

Katelyn O'Neill relies on the Milwaukee County Transit buses every day.   

\"I'm screwed. I have no options,\" O'Neill said Tuesday morning when asked about a possible strike. \"It's my means of transportation.\"

She takes the bus all around the county to doctor's appointment, swimming classes, to visit friends, and much more.

It's hundreds, thousands of people who take the bus in this county,\" she said. \"That's our only means, our only way and then you're just going to leave us abandoned because you want more money?\"

Mark Eisenreich feels a similar pain. He rides the bus every day too. If the bus service is stopped because of a strike, he says he'd be forced to stay home.

\"Everybody that depends on the bus is going to be hurt, big time,\" Eisenreich said as he waited for a bus Tuesday morning on 60th Street.

The Local 998 Transit union says they've been left with no choice but to strike since they can't come to a contract agreement with Milwaukee County. Union President James Macon says they are meeting with the county one last time, but he told CBS 58's Matt Doyle he isn't optimistic about a deal.

The county wants to get a deal done to avoid a strike. MCTS Spokesman Brendan Conway says he hopes the union agrees to a deal.

\"It would leave a lot of people stranded or struggling to find ways to get around,\" Conway said Tuesday morning. \"We hope they choose not to go on strike. They can work with us on finding some changes in the contract, but we think a strike is probably the wrong move.\"

Meetings between the county and union leaders with a federal mediator continued into Tuesday afternoon.