Oct 10 2013

BART Strike Updates by Email

BART continues to run Friday through Sunday October 13.-

You can receive timely BART strike information through BART notifications. With riders in limbo not knowing if a BART strike will occur Monday, BART has established a method for riders to be alerted to a strike.  Sign up for BART email alerts by clicking below: http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2013/news20130617.aspx

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The Governor’s 60-day cooling-off period came to an end at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, October 10.  At 11:45 pm Thursday, the unions emerged from negotiations to give a 72-hour strike notice. If no contract is agreed by Sunday evening, the unions will strike Monday morning. Both sides agreed to continue negotiating for an additional three days through 11:59 pm Sunday. All week BART unions spoke of a strike. Antonette Bryant, President of Amalgamated Transit Union 1555 (ATU) said, “The fact is our members are ready to go on strike, if we don’t get the deal that they are deserving.”

Last week, BART management offered pay increases of 10.25 %, new 4% employee pension contributions, and a four year contract.  The ATU and SEIU  unions were asking for a pay increase of 18.4% and a three year contract. Due to a blackout imposed by the mediators, current offers and counter offers have not been made public.

According to the Mercury News:
“Workers do not contribute toward their pensions and pay $92 a month toward health care regardless of how many dependents they have.

Workers have agreed to pay more toward their benefits, but say they deserve a raise because they have not received a meaningful pay increase in more than four years, even as BART’s rider and tax revenues have soared to record levels. But management says its needs to keep employee costs under control as it tries to buy rail cars and make billions of dollars of upgrades to expand service and keep the 40-year-old system running adequately.”

Updated 10/11/13

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