For many San Francisco Bay Area commuters, Bay Area Rapid Transit (or BART) is essential for mobility around the almost the area of almost seven thousand square miles. At least 400,000 riders depend on what is the nation's fifth-largest commuter rail system daily.
Looks like those hundreds of thousands of BART commuters will either have to catch the available bus and ferries or battle highway congestion by car as rail transit workers strike for the second time in four months.
The strike comes after a deadline to resolve contract negotiations passed without a deal. Developments are a complete about-face from reports that a union leader mentioning that both sides were moving closer to a resolution as talks dragged on for six months.
Union representatives said that the main work rule in need of change was employees' fixed work schedules. Some workers work four-ten shifts (four ten hour days) or five-eight shifts (five eight hour days) but officials said that BART wanted to schedule as they saw fit.
Another key issue involved salary and benefits including health and pensions. In April, unions asked for 23.3 percent raise over three years during a talk three months before June 30's contract expirations. A four-year contract with one precent rises if the agency met economic goals, was BART's counter offer. Last Sunday, BART negotiators presented a final offer that includes an annual 3 percent raise over four years while requiring workers to contribute 9.5 percent toward medical benefits and four percent toward their pensions.
General Manager for BART, Grace Crunican said the efforts were needed to control cost and help pay for other improvements including new rail cars.
"We are not going to agree to something we can't afford, Crunican said. "We have to protect aging system for our workers and the public."
Earlier this month, The Atlantic Cities posted an interactive diagram of every single BART's salary. According to the diagram, the average non-management employee grossed $76,500 in pay last year. BART workers currently pay $92 a month for health care and contribute nothing toward their pensions.
