Though MTA officials wanted to keep bargaining, union officialsfrom the LA County Federation of Labor walked away from the table."It has become apparent that no agreement can be reached at thistime," Federation of Labor chief Miguel Contreras told the pressafter the walkout. No new talks are scheduled and the two sidesremain far apart, he added.Unions representing nearly 7,000drivers, mechanics, clerks and others walked off their jobs Sept.15, claiming that they're underpaid and overworked. The MTA, whichmanages most of LA County's transit system, says the typical busdriver makes $50,000 a year and thousands more in overtime.

Realizing that there's little chance of getting the unions totake an across-the-board pay cut, MTA negotiators have been pushingfor changes in work rules to save money. Under the currentcontract, clerical duties or other simple jobs must often beperformed by highly paid mechanics or drivers. The contract alsoallows drivers to rack up hundreds of hours of costly overtime eachyear.

The toll the strike is taking on both transit users and localbusinesses is mounting with each passing day. Some restaurants,bars and retail stores--many of which are in CBD officebuildings--have been forced to either cut back hours or closealtogether because many of their workers and regular patrons can'tmake it in. Many hotels are also suffering because their maids andother modestly-paid employees depend on public transit to get totheir jobs.