The State - News from Dec. 2, 1987

SFO Airporter Inc. workers, who take an average of 2,300 people a day to and from San Francisco International Airport, went on strike, forcing the company to suspend service. Fifty-nine drivers and 25 maintenance workers walked out over wage cuts. SFO Airporter had imposed a 38% reduction in wages two years after slashing wages by 33%. Jeff Leonoudakis, SFO Airporter vice president, citing increased competition from non-union competitors, said the company’s final offer was to reduce wages and benefits from $17.50 to $10.85 an hour. However, Ernie Yates, president of Teamsters Local 655, said the union read the final offer as meaning that wages would be reduced to $7 an hour and that most vacation, sick leave, holiday and health benefits would be lost. “Some of these guys have been with the company more than 30 years and the average is about 16 years,” Yates said. “If they take any more cuts, a lot of them could lose their homes.”