BATON ROUGE — According to the Amalgamated Transit Union, some CATS workers are planning to go on strike early Monday morning. 

Officials said the union is set to go on strike around 3 a.m.

This decision comes as workers said they were growing frustrated with working conditions and wages. Nearly 100 workers had previously voted to authorize a strike if necessary in January.

ATU said, in hopes of avoiding a strike, the Union and CATS management met earlier this week. After the union set a deadline to meet again on Thursday, CATS CEO Theo Richards never came back to the table, leading the Union to decide to strike. 

"CATS has left us with no other choice but to walk off the job. We want the citizens of Baton Rouge to know we did not want to strike. We hope they stand with us. Our frontline bus operators who keep our city moving have been ignored for far too long by CATS management,” ATU President George DeCuir said.   

Despite the planned strike, CATS bus officials say they plan to maintain normal operations. 

"Our focus is to still provide essential transit services for our riders while continuing to work toward a fair and equitable resolution with our valued drivers," CATS CEO Theo Richards said. "We have implemented our contingency plans to minimize disruptions and maintain our routes, allowing passengers to reach their destinations safely and on time."

DeCuir said the Union disagrees with CATS statement.

“CATS has a hard time when we are in full service at work getting service out, so I doubt with us walking the picket line, I doubt they’re going to get adequate full service,” he said.

Senior Organizer Stanley Smith said this strike can go away with a stroke of a pen. 

“A simple letter just saying we rescind our Jan. 31 letter stops all of this, not a shakedown of workers. That’s not how you stop this,” Smith said.

The Union said until then it will make its voices heard.