(Bay Area Rapid Transit) BART strike 'extremely likely,' union leaders say

[alp227]

Source: SF Chronicle

A Monday morning BART strike began to look a lot more likely Saturday when negotiations between BART and its two largest labor unions stalled and union leaders warned that a strike is all but inevitable.

"I think it's extremely likely," said Josie Mooney, chief negotiator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents more than 1,433 BART workers, including mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff.

Mooney said the union may return to the bargaining table, but only if BART submits a significantly improved proposal. The contract is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Bargaining teams for SEIU and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, which represents 944 train operators and station agents, made the announcement at 4:15 p.m. Saturday after walking out of the Kaiser Center in Oakland, where negotiations are being held. Some of the negotiators were pulling suitcases and said they had been prepared to bargain late into the night.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Strike-looking-more-likely-as-BART-talks-stall-4638530.php

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Meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News recently reported that BART's top-paid employee of 2012, former general manager Dorothy Dugger, "quietly stayed on the books, burning off nearly 80 weeks of unused vacation time, drawing paychecks and full benefits for more than 19 months after she agreed to quit in May 2011."

[railsback]

1. This time, these unions are pulling some serious fucking b.s. on the public

This isn't negotiating in good faith at all. This is extortion.

And please, don't give some stupid bullshit that I'm against unions. Unions are a tool to ensure people get good, fair wages and benefits, which most companies don't even offer anymore. These workers have it better than most transit workers across the land, even better than NY transit workers. 5% freakin' annual raise? No contributions to their own pensions? $92 a month for health care?

I bet most of the people taking BART can only wish about getting something half as decent as what Bart employees already get, and now these unions are about to screw thousands of people over. THAT'S NOT RIGHT.

[alp227]

2. wanna find out who in BART is being overpaid? see the comment below the excerpt i just added n/t

[cstanleytech]

4. It sucks but so what? Thats just one person.

The article said that (assuming I read it correctly) they are earning 60k on average a year correct? if so then thats an extremely good wage, more than they would earn working in a retail store and even more than they would earn at Costco and about 50k more than I take in a year.

[Populist_Prole]

6. Apples and Oranges

Why compare what they make to retail, and lament they make more than retail? That just feeds the race to the bottom mentality the plutocrats love. I imagine 60K/year in the San Francisco area aint all that great shakes anyway.

[Lucky Luciano]

16. Why shouldn't someone get paid for unused vacation time?

[Gormy Cuss]

3. That most BART commuters can only wish for these things is what's not right.

I say that as someone who will be screwed if BART goes out on Monday.

[Omaha Steve]

5. So because most American's are under paid since Raygun, don't side with labor?

Do you have a union in your workplace? Will you organize if not?

Granted they are paid and compensated well. That is the reason EVERY DUer should be screaming pro union verse and organizing. It is only the scared of losing their job that have themselves to blame. And they are the majority of the US workers.

I risked everything in 1980 to try to bring a union to a non-union shop. I was fired for a protected activity when the company knew I had the votes to win union recognition. I won in court (NLRB) after almost 4 years and got bought off on a settlement. The company kept the union out. I moved on. The company got state tax incentives while my case was in the court system. It has since merged and is 10 times the size it was. No union.

Compare the net worth of the American middle class against Australia, Japan, or Germany. WE COLLECTIVELY are underpaid by well over 50% compared to countries that have a good union % of a work force. Thom Hartman addressed this in the last week on his show.

Need I say more?

K&R!

OS

[primavera]

7. Bravo!

I have to say, I often amazed by how many, even on the left of the political spectrum, seem to resent unions for having succeeded in achieving better working conditions and compensation for themselves. Rather than be offended by the CEO making $50 million a year, they're pissed off that the union workers making $50,000/year. It's like we want union members to suffer the same economic injustice that we suffer, to bring everyone down to our level rather than elevate ourselves to a civilized level. That just makes no sense to me. Unions created the middle class, people, remember when we had one of those? I.e., before corporations made us into the land of the 1% versus the 99%?

[Populist_Prole]

9. Exactly! Spot on post

Every word. It's sickening to hear/read posters right here on DU play right into the 1 percent's hands by turning on fellow working class members just because they make more than themselves. Jerks. Yeah: I'm calling those people out.

[senseandsensibility]

19. Agreed, and that short sighted and self centered attitude

is one reason for the decline in wages in this country. I wish that people wouldn't give in to these lesser emotions of envy and resentment. When unions fight for and win better pay and benefits it raises the tide for all workers. That's why until recently, even non union jobs had decent pay and benefits. They were trying to keep up with the unions. Now it's a race to the bottom with the working people cheering it on from the sidelines. Really sad.

[Doctor_J]

21. they are susceptible to the same propaganda as the right

You'd be surprised how many so called dems listen to Fox and hate radio all day. All of those lies sink in eventually

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Major K & R!

I am appalled (nay, horrified) by the way that media steers us away from the commonsensical notion of a living wage for people who work hard to make life better for all and instead highlights the selfish concerns of those whose lives are temporarily inconvenienced by the assertion of what should be fundamental rights.

Profound thanks to you, Omaha Steve, and to courageous others who understand the real story, the real goal.

[Posteritatis]

10. Yep. "Everyone else's life needs to suck as much as mine or more" is a pretty lousy mindset.

Had a pretty ugly transit strike in my town a year and a bit ago; the number of morons outraged that bus drivers were being paid more than minimum wage, and who still demand that sort of thing this long afterwards, is appalling.

[Starry Messenger]

11. Boom!

[Sherman A1]

13. As always, Eloquently Stated!

One wonders what these folks would be paid if the working folks had not been getting screwed for the last 30 years? As we know if minimum wage had kept up with productivity gains it would be well over $20.00 per hour so I would imagine that these transit workers would be in the $150K range as they very well should be.

We should ALL be making a whole hell of a lot more than we are now!

[alp227]

18. Thom hartmann segment

[railsback]

22. Per your request for a specific response

Like I said, I have no problem with unions. Look what the BART unions have accomplished for their workers: Some of the highest wages in the land, pensions paid for, cheap health care, guaranteed vacation time that can't be taken away. Yes, truly awesome. But now demanding a 5% wage increase every year, and blaming the abuse of sick time on unsafe working conditions, which there's really no record of, is just a big FUCK YOU to the hundreds of thousands of riders who NEED BART to try to make ends meet. Oh, and the argument that SF is so expensive - how many actually live in SF? And how many live in rent controlled apartments? Who says they have to live in SF anyways?? Its BART, for Christ's sake. They can live all the way out in Pleasanton and get a free ride to work. I've lived here pretty much all my life and tell you all that that's a total BULLSHIT argument.

And again, people just generalize the shit out of everything here. Unions, the NSA, they're just tools that only operate at the mental capacity of those using them. Its as if Unions can do no wrong because the premise is that unions do nothing but help people, and the NSA can do no right. Any tool can be used proficiently just as any tool can be abused.

So, FUCK the BART unions on this one. Its extortion. Thousands are going to get fucked over ROYALLY by this if it happens. Its just like what the Republicans do in Congress, hold the country hostage so they can get favorable actions for a tiny minority. This is completely different than a union striking at a private company. People can just move on and get their shit somewhere where else until the dispute is solved. This is PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. People build their lives around it. They depend on it. There aren't any other alternatives that can handle the fall out. This affects EVERYONE, not just some people who have a preference for Twinkies.

I stand FOR the PEOPLE, and have nothing else to say about all this total BULLSHIT.

[Omaha Steve]

23. I'm curious

You don't mention ever having been in a union. Why not start one where you work for higher pay and benefits?

[railsback]

24. You assume I 'work for the man'

I run my own business.

[Omaha Steve]

25. OK

I thought maybe you would go to work for Bart.

[Ash_F]

27. Thank you.

Thank you for everything.

Don't let these pubs divide Americans!

[Sherman A1]

12. You may believe they are overpaid, however

what is the cost of living in the area? Are these folks not entitled to a decent standard of living?

Frankly I think the folks operating a transit system (running those trains and such) need to be paid well, trained well as there is a rather large public safety factor involved here.

[displacedtexan]

17. Excellent point.

Rent for 1 bed/1bath in a safe central neighborhood is between $2500 & $3000 per month. Condo prices for the same size space are half a million and up. Those of us here in SF who keep up with local news know that the union has taken major cuts in salary and benefits over the last two decades, and management has stalled contract talks until the last minute.

Muni transit workers start at about $20 per hour and spend 15-30 years getting to the salary range people are complaining about.

I still can't figure out how people can automatically blame the union without investigating the prior actions of management.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

14. support all union action. Solidarity, brothers and sisters!

[ForgoTheConsequence]

15. Damn greedy union workers.

60k a year in San Francisco? I bet those greedy commies are living a lavish lifestyle and buying the name brand cereal.

[senseandsensibility]

20. Support the union.

Support the workers. I guarantee that the corporate media is not telling the union's side completely and is slanting the issue.

[tularetom]

26. It ain't just BART

If you are at all interested in why people are pissed off at public employee unions check out this article about abuse of overtime in the Oakland PD.

http://www.safehaven.com/article/17246/welcome-to-oakland-the-model-city-part-two

It seems that a lot of people have figured out ways to game the system and make the taxpayers pay for it.

It may not be popular around DU to criticize public employee unions but this shit is totally out of hand. You can talk all you want about living wage and cost of living but it is ridiculous for line officers in the Oakland PD to be pulling in a quarter of a million bucks a year, over half of which is overtime.

Flame my ass if you want, but I'm not at all surprised that cash strapped local governments are looking at privatization of services. They have lost control of their employee unions.

[Doctor_J]

28. So they'll somehow have more control over private corporations?

every service that gets "privatized" end up with higher costs and shitty service.

[tularetom]

29. That's exactly what will happen and it sucks

But the elected officials could keep it from happening if they had the guts to clamp down on these abuses by public employee unions, mostly public safety.

The taxpayers really don't give a shit because they realize they'll get crappy service either way and when they read these stories of street cops being paid (I won't say "earning&quot a quarter of a million bucks a year they tend to become a bit miffed. Especially when they are working their asses off at their $50k job just to keep their head above water.

These assholes are fucking it up for the vast majority of conscientious public employees who are not abusing the overtime or pension rules and just trying to do their jobs.