Milwaukee Transit Union members prepared to strike if concerns aren't addressed

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Union bus operators and mechanics in Milwaukee County are ready to picket if the transit system does not meet their demands.

Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 (ATU) marched through Downtown Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Chants demanding a fair contract could be heard through the streets as dozens walked to the county courthouse from the ATU headquarters.

"I'm very much prepared to strike because of my safety," said bus operator Tracie Bumper.

Bumper is just one of many operators that claim they have been assaulted by passengers on county buses.

"It's really scary. You don't want to ever be in your car and feel like somebody could just punch you in the face. That's my biggest concern. People really get mad over the smallest things," she said. "We're supposed to just inform [passengers] how much the fare is, like if you say that, you may get punched in your face."

Others at the rally expressed similar concerns.

"We have people that won't get off the bus, they stay on, they threaten us. We can say 'hi' and there are just outbursts, threatening us, cursing us, hitting us on the shield, of course, we're going to be frightened by that," bus operator Lisa Hegler said.

Union members would like to see law enforcement help keep them safe at work.

"Every other city that's our size has a police force. They have security that can remove people from the bus," ATU Local 998 Vice President Michael Brown said.

Along with safety, better wages and lowering health insurance costs, the union is also concerned with employee retention.

"We should have about 750 operators to operate this system, and we're below 690. We also know there's been close to 500 operators hired over the last four years," ATU Local 998 President Donell Shorter said. "Since they hired those 450 operators, we've lost probably 470."

Negotiations with Milwaukee County Transit System resume on Friday, but if ATU does not believe it is a fair contract, county buses could come to a standstill.

"We're all in favor of putting our foot down and trying to get what we need and what we want," Hegler said.

A strike that one county board supervisor who was at Wednesday's rally thinks could cause significant issues.

"An open-ended transit strike is a big deal that would shut down a lot of Milwaukee County's economy," 4th District Count Board Supervisor Ryan Clancy said.

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