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Politics & Government

BART Workers Going On Strike At Midnight

No talks scheduled Thursday night as unions say BART management's entrenched positions are forcing them to walk off the job

Written by David Mills

BART workers appear certain to go on strike at midnight Thursday night after contract talks stalled on Thursday afternoon.
BART spokesman Rick Rice said no talks are scheduled Thursday evening and the mediators have left the building in Oakland where negotiations have been held.

After the talks broke off, union representatives held a news conference to say that unless BART management softened its "hard line stance" on several issues, the transit workers would walk off the job at midnight.

"I'm sorry, I'm regretful," said Service Employees International Union Local 1021 President Roxanne Sanchez. "The employer has been unwilling to reach an agreement or to settle these disputes without a strike."     

A marathon bargaining session between BART management and its two biggest labor unions -- SEIU Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 -- began Wednesday morning, lasted all night and continued into Thursday afternoon.

BART General Manager Grace Crunican has participated in the talks, along with three federal mediators.

Early Thursday evening, Crunican released a statement, saying some progress had been made this week but "a large gap" still remains between management and the unions.

Crunican said they presented the unions on Thursday with an"updated final offer" that includes a 12 percent raise over four years and $1,000 in incentive pay bonuses for each employee if ridership increases.

The proposal also calls for workers to contribute to 4 percent of their pension and 9.5 percent of their medical benefits.

They gave the unions until Oct. 27 to respond and schedule a vote with their members. The unions rejected the proposal.

"We are not going to agree to something we can't afford," said Crunican. "We gave it our all and it didn't come together and that is disappointing for everybody involved."

BART officials urged commuters to work from home, carpool or find other means of transportation.

Rice said BART has contracted for bus service into San Francisco, but that system can only carry 6,000 passengers. The buses will pick up passengers at the Walnut Creek, El Cerrito del Norte, Concord, Lafayette, Dublin/Pleasanton, San Leandro, Hayward, Fremont and West Oakland.

Rice urged commuters to get those stations at 5 a.m. to catch a ride. He reminded riders they need to purchase a round-trip ticket. Evening commuters will not be allowed on the San Francisco-to-East Bay buses if they didn't ride them in the morning.

BART workers previously went on strike for four and a half days at the beginning of July, after their previous contract expired, but they have been at work since then as negotiations have continued.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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