Plan B Forum

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Negotiators for San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit said they planned to show up for contract talks Sunday as union leaders warned workers will likely go on strike, which threatens to cripple the region's Monday morning commute.

Josie Mooney, a negotiator for the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said there was "a 95 percent chance" that her union and members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 would strike, after contract talks stalled Saturday.

"I'm afraid I don't see a way we will avoid a strike," she said after union leaders left the negotiating table Saturday, claiming they have met with BART's management for only 10 minutes in the past 36 hours. The two unions represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff.

A walkout could derail the more than 400,000 riders who use the nation's fifth-largest rail system and affect every mode of transportation, clogging highways and bridges throughout the Bay Area. Such a strike could begin Monday after contracts expire at midnight Sunday.

BART spokesman Rick Rice said Sunday that the agency planned to attend talks scheduled for 1 p.m. and hoped union representatives would be there.

"We're certainly expecting to have conversations today," Rice said. "We'll be there."

Mooney said Saturday that the unions have no plans to meet with BART.

Negotiations between BART and the unions had intensified as Sunday night's deadline loomed. Two state mediators were facilitating the negotiations, with each side seated in separate rooms.

As the parties went back to the bargaining table Saturday in Oakland for anticipated around-the-clock sessions, both sides said they were far apart on key sticking points including salary, pensions, health care and safety.

The unions want a 5 percent annual raise over the next three years. BART said Saturday that train operators and station agents in the unions average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually. The workers also pay a flat $92 monthly fee for health insurance.

Rice said BART's latest proposal offered an 8 percent salary raise over the next four years, instead of its original offer of 4 percent. The proposed salary increase is on top of a 1 percent raise employees were scheduled to receive Monday, Rice added.

The transit agency also said it offered to reduce the contribution employees would have to make to their pensions, and lower the costs of health care premiums they would have to pay.

On Friday, the ATU asked California Gov. Jerry Brown to issue a 60-day "cooling off" period if no deal can be reached by Sunday's deadline, but the SEIU and BART officials have urged Brown not to issue such an order.

The governor's office has declined to comment.

BART's last strike lasted six days in 1997. On Friday, other area transit agencies urged commuters to consider carpooling, taking buses or ferries, working from home and, if they must drive to work, to leave earlier or even later than usual.

"The bottom line is that a BART strike will be an absolute nightmare for everyone," said Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a business advocacy organization. "Our transportation system simply does not have the capacity to absorb the more than 400,000 BART riders who will be left at the station. There will be serious pain."

dales wrote:

...

The unions want a 5 percent annual raise over the next three years. BART said Saturday that train operators and station agents in the unions average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually. The workers also pay a flat $92 monthly fee for health insurance.

....

Big RR wrote:I looked at relocating to the bay area a number of years ago; the cost of living is much worse than the NYC metro area, including Long Island.

Mercury News editorial: BART union demands are outrageous
Mercury News Editorial

Posted: 07/01/2013 01:34:14 PM PDT
July 1, 2013 8:54 PM GMTUpdated: 07/01/2013 01:54:49 PM PDT


What are striking BART workers thinking?

They're already the top-paid transit system employees in the region and among the best in the nation. They have free pensions, health care coverage for the entire family for just $92 a month and the same sweet medical insurance deal when they retire after just five years on the job.

They work only 37½ hours a week. They can call in sick during the workweek and then volunteer for overtime shifts on their days off. The rules exacerbate out-of-control overtime that in 2012 added an average 19 percent to base pay for station agents and 33 percent for train operators.

Meanwhile, BART faces a $142 million operating shortfall over the next 10 years. It already owes a $636 million debt for employees' pension and retiree health care benefits. Aging train cars and the train control system must be replaced. And BART faces billions of dollars of deferred maintenance and repairs.

There is no extra money. Indeed, future tax increase requests are planned in the district, and even though Santa Clara County will not be part of that district -- the local line will be run on a contract basis -- the challenges will affect everyone who uses the system. Every dollar that BART raises salaries must come from somewhere, either more taxes, fare increases or more debt that will be pushed onto future generations.

It's against this backdrop that workers demanded 23 percent salary increases over the
next four years. Their thinking is completely divorced from reality.

They complain that they have gone without raises for several years. So have many Bay Area workers, including many of the taxpayers and riders who pay BART salaries. And at the risk of repetition -- they are still among the best-compensated for the jobs they perform.

As to union claims that this is all about safety-- how stupid do they think the public is?

It's time to get real. And local labor-backed politicians need to butt out.

We've been here before. We know how things work out when legislators and members of Congress stick their noses in where they don't belong. Their pressure led to the unaffordable deals that helped get us into this mess. Neither the BART board nor the region can afford to allow that to happen again.

The strike is miserable for commuters. Our reporters out there with them trying to navigate the clogged streets and highways in this sweltering heat. We know exactly how difficult and frustrating it is.

But let's be patient. It's a matter of pay now or pay more later.

If BART directors fail to rein in costs -- that is, if they cave -- the region will face higher fares and taxes while service deteriorates.

It's been 16 years since the last BART strike. Given the unreasonable labor demands, this one was inevitable. The alternative was a financial train wreck that could cripple the system for decades to come. BART trustees were right to hold their ground and need to keep it up.

rubato wrote:
A little confused, what?


yrs,
rubato