BART employees represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 picket in front of the Lake Merritt BART station in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, July 3, 2013., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
By Erin Ivie and Mike Rosenberg
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 07/03/2013 11:18:54 PM PDT
OAKLAND -- Negotiations between BART and its unions resumed Thursday morning as fewer commuters took to the road on the
July Fourth holiday.
But a union representative from Service Employees International Union Local 1021 signaled little sign of progress as the strike entered a fourth day.
Talks resumed at 11 a.m. after negotiations between management and officials from SEIU and Amalgamated Transit Union 1555 dragged on until near midnight Wednesday.
During a break from negotiations Thursday afternoon, SEIU chief negotiator Josie Mooney detoured to the Lake Merritt station to thank union members for their show of support on the holiday. While the two top state mediators sent in by Gov. Jerry Brown Tuesday ordered both sides to keep the talks confidential until a deal is reached, Mooney gave a brief update to union members without expanding upon the nature of Thursday morning's talks.
Mooney said that while not at an impasse, negotiations with BART were "not going well."
"We are working very hard under the auspices of two of the state's best mediators," Mooney said. "We are fighting for liberty from employers who treat workers like you-know-what."
Mooney went on to incite cries from union members when she informed picketers that BART General Manager Grace Crunican was still conspicuously absent from negotiations.
"I just have one more question ... where's Grace?" Mooney asked an aroused group of picketers,
some hoisting missing persons signs with Crunican's face on them. "We saw her in the newspaper, but we haven't seen her at the bargaining table."
About 150 BART SEIU employees rallied in front of the Lake Merritt station, reciting such chants as "They brought the trains to a halt; don't blame us, it's management's fault!"
"This rally shows we're united. We're still standing strong," said Gregory Correa, Alameda County representative for SEIU.
"This Independence Day, were fighting for our independence."
The holiday provided a break for most of the 200,000 commuters left scrambling for alternative transportation this week. Still, plenty of workers and revelers were forced to find other ways to get to jobs and celebrations.
BART promised to once again offer chartered bus service from East Bay stations on Thursday, but only 15 buses were available, instead of the 36 that were dispatched Wednesday morning. Buses will pick up passengers on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 6 a.m. at the El Cerrito del Norte, Walnut Creek, Dublin/Pleasanton, Fremont and West Oakland stations.
Officials will send slightly more buses Friday.
Most other Bay Area transit agencies are running reduced service for the
Fourth of July and will be back to full strength Friday.
Officials said earlier Wednesday that once an agreement is reached, it would take 18 hours before the first passengers can once again take BART to work, baseball games or fireworks shows. In addition to calling all the workers back, BART needs to reboot its electrical and computer systems, test service and clear the other logistical challenges of waking a sleeping train system that spans 104 miles.
"We've got to make sure all the equipment is manned, then we've got to make sure it's all safe for the passengers and employees," BART spokesman Rick Rice said.
With the holiday kicking off a long weekend, rush hour was not expected to be significantly slowed again until Monday. Still, that was little solace for Bay Area residents who normally would have used BART on Wednesday, when once again they packed into buses, trains and ferries or drove to work, jamming freeways and bridges.
"Jobs are hard to come by right now. They should be thankful they have a job," said David Hogue, 50, of San Mateo. Hogue, who usually takes BART for part of his marathon commute to Stockton, hasn't been sleeping much because of the additional travel time.
On Wednesday, the BART board of directors indicated it might unilaterally impose new "terms and conditions of employment" on the unions. The board used a similar strategy during its last round of labor talks, voting unanimously to impose working conditions on its unions in 2009.
Workers responded initially by threatening to strike, but quickly reached a settlement without walking off the job.
Rice, the BART spokesman, downplayed the possible re-emergence of the strategy, saying that the board is still committed to reaching a deal through negotiations. But, he said, "We have to be prepared for all possibilities."
Because of the gag order, it's unclear what the latest proposals from each side are. But heading into Tuesday's talks, BART was offering an 8 percent pay increase, while unions were seeking a 20.1 percent hike.
The average blue-collar union BART worker now makes about $78,000 a year, including overtime.
An analysis by this newspaper showed the workers would earn an average gross pay of $82,000 to $84,000 under BART's proposal, depending on whether certain economic benchmarks are met, by 2016. Under the union's proposal, average pay would climb to about $93,000 in 2015.
In addition, BART was asking its unions, which do not currently contribute to their pensions, to pay steadily more until reaching a contribution of 5 percent after four years.
The unions countered with a 0.5 percent annual contribution.
The final major issue is health care, for which all workers currently pay a flat $92 a month.
Management wants the employees' share to increase to 16 percent and for employees with more dependents to pay more. The union has not revealed its proposal but is willing to pay more than it does now.
While some commuters are taking sides, others just want it to be over.
"They're holding the public hostage," said commute-worn barista Chanda Briggs, shortly after a cranky commuter snapped at her while she was making a latte at Frog Hollow Farms in San Francisco's Ferry Building. "We're the ones that suffer."
Staff writers Denis Cuff and Daniel J. Willis contributed to this report. Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705. Follow him at Twitter.com/rosenbergmerc.
No comments:
Post a Comment