California Gov. Jerry Brown stepped in between union workers and BART to prevent an impending transit strike for at least another week.
Last week, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) workers gave the California Bay Area transit agency a 72-hour notice threatening to strike if a new labor deal wasn't reached by a Sunday midnight deadline. Because the two sides still remained far apart on the issues of wages, pensions and healthcare as the deadline approached, Gov. Brown intervened by appointing a three-member board of inquiry to investigate the stalled negotiations just hours before workers were scheduled to walk out.
A strike would have affected over 400,000 commuters who use BART, the nation's fifth largest rail system, on a daily basis. In a letter addressed to BART's general manager and three top union leaders, Brown explained he stepped in because a strike would "significantly disrupt public transportation services and [would] endanger the public's health, safety and welfare," reports SFGate.
The board must now provide the governor with a written public report on the contract talks within seven days. During that time unions are not allowed to walk off the job, nor can they be locked out by BART. Afterward, Brown will decide whether to impose a 60-day cooling-off period on BART and its unions, which would delay any possible strike until mid-October at the earliest.
"BART labor negotiations are always contentious," said Tom Radulovich, president of BART's board of directors. "But it gets frustrating to have the best wage increases and benefits in the transit industry and be told we're union busting."
Roxanne Sanchez, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said in a statement: "Our hope is that the Governor's Board can show the public how BART has manipulated the process and continued to bargain in bad faith."
The panel will be headed by Jacob Appelsmith, a senior adviser to the governor and director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control. The other members are Micki Callahan, San Francisco's director of human resources, and Robert Balgenorth, president emeritus of the Building and Construction Trades Council of California, reports the LA Times.
The unions, which represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff, are requesting a 5 percent raise each year over the next three years. However, BART said union train operators and station agents average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually. BART says it needs to save money on benefits to help pay for system improvements.
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