The BART union worker strike continued on Monday, forcing hundreds of thousands of riders to resort to using overcrowded buses, ferries and highways during the rush hour commute. BART workers walked off the job Friday morning after a deadline to resolve contract negotiations between BART management and its two largest unions expired.
BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said Sunday that the BART Board of Directors will hold a special meeting on Monday at 3 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations.
In a statement released Sunday, Trost said, "BART officials have been in communication with union leaders and the mediator to determine the next steps towards a resolution. No talks are scheduled at this time. Given the fact there is still no agreement on wages and important work rule changes, BART is open to restarting mediated talks if the mediator determines it is appropriate to reconvene," reports ABC News affliate KGO-TV.
BART says it's open to restarting mediated talks if the mediator determines it is appropriate to resume discussions.
In the meantime, ATU 1555 members plan to vote on BART's last contract offer sometime this week even though it's not expected to pass.
"We're going to vote their last, best, final offer," said ATU President Antonette Bryant. "We're getting that printed up for our members now. We've got a meeting that's tentatively set. We're going to vote that contract, okay? We absolutely are. But we know that our members are going to vote it down."
Bryant also said the main reason the contract will be voted down is because it doesn't address safety issues.