LA: How did contract confusion trigger a Baton Rouge bus worker strike? Here's what to know.

As Baton Rouge reaches day four of a bus worker strike disrupting public transit throughout the Capital Region, Capital Area Transit System and its union both seem to think the ball is in the other's court.

At the heart of the confusion is which contract — the previous labor agreement or a new one implemented unilaterally by CATS — is in effect.

According to Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1546, the reason for striking comes down to a letter sent by CATS on Jan. 31 stating that the former labor contract would expire by midnight and the transit agency planned to operate from a new contract, their best and final offer.

Inasmuch as the parties are at an impasse and the contract will expire this evening, the Agency intends to implement the terms and conditions of the attached document immediately," CATS attorney Keith Cunningham wrote, per a copy of the letter provided by the union.

CATS CEO Theo Richards said the letter was misunderstood and only gave management the authority to implement a new contract at any time. CATS is currently operating from the previous agreement that expired Jan. 31, he said.

"Maybe the confusion is because of how it was phrased in the letter," Richards said. "It gives us the ability to implement the new contract if need be. However, that new contract has not been implemented as of yet."

One issue with the new contract was that it instituted a wage freeze, ATU Local 1546 recording secretary Willie Travis Jr. said.

"Whatever amount you're being paid now, you're going to be paid that for the next three years," Travis Jr. said. "With cost of living going up the way it's going up right now, we can't agree to those terms."

Still, union officials maintained that CATS' handling of the contract was their reason for going on strike, not wages.

Different versions of events

In the weeks following the best and final offer, communication continued to break down.

In a phone call on Feb. 27 between ATU senior organizer Stanley Smalls and Richards, days before the strike was announced, Richards said again that the expired contract was still being used.

The call was recorded by Smalls.

"I did verify with the team, and I'll reverify it with the team, but we are operating off of the expired contract, with the hopes that we can get this to arbitration, and we come to a resolution," Richards said in the recording.

"I'll say this. From our side, we don't have that in writing from you guys," Smalls said.

"And my apologies. I thought that was communicated to y'all."

Smalls said a strike could be avoided if clarification could be sent in writing to ATU Local 1546 president George DeCuir immediately. Richards said he would get someone working on it.

But after that phone meeting, the union did not receive the information they requested in writing, officials said, triggering the strike announced Sunday.

On Wednesday, Richards reiterated that the expired contract is the operative document. He said he has asked for the parties to go to interest arbitration.

"That ball is in their court," Richards said.

The same day, Smalls restated his position and said Richards can't request arbitration without formally rescinding the best and final offer.

"Withdraw the contract," he said. "Let's get back to the table.

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