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Politics & Government

BART Update: No Strike On Tuesday As Unions and Management Continue to Talk

BART board president tells unions to let workers vote on the latest contract offer while union leader tells public to brace for a strike.

Written by David Mills (Editor) 

BART officials announced early this morning that there would be no transit strike on Tuesday.

BART released a statement shortly after 1 a.m. saying the unions had agreed not to strike on Tuesday as talks continued overnight.

"We apologize the Bay Area continues to have to wait until the middle of the night to find out if union leadership will allow the trains to run each morning," the statement read. "We hope we can get this situation resolved quickly so the uncertainty can come to an end."

The announcement came less than three hours after union negotiators announced they had made a counteroffer to BART management in an effort to avoid a midnight strike.

Pete Castelli, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, told reporters at about 10:30 p.m. that he couldn't release details of the new contract proposal, but he said "we did make movement."

On Monday afternoon, Castelli had advised commuters that they should prepare to take alternate transportation for Tuesday's commute.

Also on Monday afternoon, BART Board President Tom Radulovich urged leaders from the SEIU and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 to let workers vote on the latest contract offer fromBART. He said the proposal was on the "outer limit" of what the transit agency could offer.

That proposal was presented by BART to the unions on Sunday afternoon. BART General Manager Grace Crunican called it the transit agency's "last, best and final offer."

It contains a 12 percent wage increase over four years. The contract also calls for employees to make a 4 percent pension contribution and a 9.5 percent contribution to their health benefits.

The offer also includes a $500 lump sum payment per employee for every percentage point ridership increases above forecasted levels. The lump sum is capped at $1,000 per employee.

Crunican said it is $7 million more in wages and benefits than what the district had on the table Friday.

However, union leaders maintain that BART's latest contract proposal is worth less than previous offers, calling it "regressive."

In April, BART was offering no salary increase. In June, that rose to 4 percent over four years. In July, the offer was hiked to 8 percent. In August, it rose to 10 percent.

The union contract proposal began at a 21 percent pay raise over three years to 17 percent, according to figures released Monday by BART.

Patch has put together a chart on how the two sides' contract proposals have changed since April.

After no contract agreement was reached Sunday night, union leaders said they'd negotiate for one more day. They said they would go on strike at midnight Monday night if no agreement was hammered out by then.

If that wasn't enough, AC Transit union leaders announced Monday afternoon they were issuing a 72-hour strike notice in their labor dispute.

Bus drivers, mechanics, dispatchers and other workers represented by ATU Local 192 will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if no agreement is reached.

Caught in the middle of all this are BART commuters.

Patch interviewed a half-dozen of them as they exited the Walnut Creek BART station at 5 p.m. Monday.

All were worried about the pending strike and none of them were happy about it.

Mayra Rodriguez has been riding BART to Oakland since she started a new job three weeks ago.

She said she'll probably try to carpool if there's a strike.

"I value what they (the union) are doing, but they need to think about the commuters," she said.

David Stutzman has been taking BART to San Francisco for the past six months.

While waiting for a bus to bring him home to Danville, he said he'll probably take a bus from the Walnut Creek BART station if there's a strike.

He said employees at public agencies should not have unions because they have a monopoly.

"There shouldn't be a union. They're not in a free market environment," he said.

A woman standing next to him who identified herself as Jane P. has been taking BART on a daily basis to Oakland for two years.

She's going to try the casual carpool on Tuesday if there's a strike. She was also unhappy with the unions.

"It disgusts me," she said. "If I did this, I'd be out of a job."

Kazu Osoegawa takes BART to Oakland. He rides to and from his Walnut Creek home on his bicycle.

He wasn't sure what he would do if there's a strike. He might try to find a co-worker to catch a ride with.

He said an agreement should have been worked out by now.

"The union is asking for too much," he said. "Nobody's getting pay raises right now."

A young man who rides BART to Concord said he wasn't sure what he was going to do on Tuesday.

A young woman waiting for a ride to pick her up said she'll work from home. She had one quick comment as she dashed to the car that was waiting for her.

"I'm pissed if that's what you're asking," she said.

Patch has compiled a survival guide with information on alternative modes of transportation if there is a walkout.

BART workers went on strike for four and a half days at the beginning of July but returned to the bargaining table at the request of Gov. Jerry Brown.

When a strike again seemed imminent, Brown sought a 60-day cooling-off period, which expired last week.

The unions announced late Thursday night that they would postpone a potential strike for 72 hours. Then they extended that deadline for another 24 hours.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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