Reno Reporter

The strike by Reno bus drivers demanding a higher employee contribution to their health care plan continues after the bus union failed to show up for an Aug. 10 meeting to begin negotiations.

MyNews4 reported that the RTC bus drivers continued to picket at the main station in downtown Reno as the work stoppage entered its second week.

The bus company currently pays $740 per month on health insurance. However, the company proposed to reduce that to $711 per month. Mayor Hillary Schieve got involved with the situation, but the bus driver union did not show up for the meeting brokered by the Reno mayor, MyNews4 reported. 

Michael Ake with Keolis Transit, an RTC contractor, said that the bus union failing to show up doesn't just negatively affect the union employees, it also affects residents who rely on public transportation to get from place to place, MyNews4 reported. 

"It has dire implications for everybody,"Ake said, according to MyNews4. "Not only our employees but also the people that need transit." 

The meeting would have been the first attempt at negotiations since the strike began, MyNews4 reported. 

"The union president is just less than truthful sometimes," Ake said, according to MyNews4. "He really does not want to sit at the table and negotiate."