Bus service is reportedly back to normal Friday afternoon after about 40 Valley Metro bus drivers called in sick in the morning.

The Phoenix Public Transit Department reported the sick drivers disrupted at least six bus routes. The service problems occurred at the same time drivers chanted, "We want a contract," at a protest Friday morning in downtown Phoenix outside of a "Friends of Transit Event" where Mayor Phil Gordon received an award.

The drivers protested stalled labor negotiations and a lack of a contract with Veolia Transportation Services and staged the "information picket" outside of the Friends of Transit event because they thought it was timely and appropriate, ATU President Bob Bean said.

Veolia management and supervisors operated bus routes affected by the drivers who have called in sick, Phoenix Public Transit Department spokeswoman Marie Chapple said. Veolia will maintain all of its Valley Metro bus routes in Phoenix on Friday, but some bus trips will be missing.

Bus routes affected Friday were 16-16th Street, 19-19th Avenue, 70-Glendale/24th Street, 80-Northern, 154-Greenway and 170-Bell Road.

The dispute is between Veolia, which runs 33 city bus routes out of 99, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433. The union is one of three unions representing Valley Metro bus drivers. The conflict between Veolia and the unions has stretched out for months and included a lockout.

Union members have not been encouraged to take off or to call in sick, union Vice President Michael Cornelius said. The union asked for workers who were not working or were on a split--a six-hour break--to come out of uniform to the protest.

"(The drivers) keep working," Cornelius said. "They don't want to strand the citizens. But it gets to the point where enough is enough."

Union members have been working without a contract for eight months and "are fed up with bad faith bargaining," Cornelius said.

The union said it is protesting Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's receipt of an award Friday from the "Friends of Transit." Gordon will receive the award at noon.

The presence of union members from the Communication Workers and the AFL-CIO unions at the protest was "a show of solidarity," Cornelius said.