BART strike

Over half of Bay Area residents support a ban on transit strikes, bucking the region’s pro-union reputation, reveals a new Field Poll. The rest of the state is split, but more Californians still believe public transit workers should have the right to strike.

The BART strike is over and trains are running again after a four-day work stoppage. Unions, management, and local politicians announced a tentative agreement late Monday night.

After more than six months of negotiations and two strikes that infuriated workers, BART and its unions have a deal.

John Arantes, BART chapter president of SEIU 1021, said the strike was not about money.

BART’s unions called off a strike for the fourth time in less than a week as the two sides continue to try to hammer out a deal. Around 10:30 PM on Tuesday night, federal mediator George Cohen stepped outside to confirm that talks were continuing.

“Progress is being made,” Cohen said, adding that trains would run on Wednesday. Both sides say Cohen, who helped solve the NFL and NBA labor disputes, has been an asset in the negotiations.

BART trains will continue to run on Tuesday across the Bay Area, but there’s still no deal in the six-month-long labor contract negotiations. For the third time in less than a week, BART’s unions have put off a strike to stay at the bargaining table. 

An hour after the strike deadline passed early Tuesday around 1 AM, federal mediator George Cohen told reporters the two sides were making progress.

BART’s biggest unions called off a strike late Sunday night, but stressed they are ready to strike on Tuesday if no deal is reached. BART management gave what it called its “last and best” offer on Sunday afternoon. 

BART’s unions had previously stepped down from a strike that would have started Friday. But this time, BART said they were done negotiating.

Breaking the media gag order, BART’s General Manager Grace Crunican said the final offer gives the unions a 12 percent raise.

The Bay Area could see its second BART strike in three months on Friday if the transit agency doesn’t reach a deal with its unions by midnight tonight. The two sides are closer together than they were back in August, but conflicting statements from the unions and management could be a bad sign.

On Wednesday night SEIU 1021 and ATU Local 1555 said the two sides were close to a deal, but BART pulled the offer. BART spokesman Jim Allison countered by saying "any suggestion that BART offered a proposal and withdrew it is categorically untrue."

UPDATE 1:37PM:

BART officials just announced that negotiations will resume tonight at 6pm. BART spokesperson Rick Rice said, "After one full day of no meetings, we are eager to get back to the table.”

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Tuesday’s commute seems to be shaping up to be worse than yesterday's. Freeways backed up sooner, ferry lines were longer, and the free shuttles that BART provided from five East Bay stations filled up quicker.

Meanwhile, BART and its unions have yet to sit down to talks since Sunday, although both sides did speak with a state mediator last night.

While BARTocalpyse was causing major trouble over in Oakland, the commuters at the El Cerrito del Norte BART station at the Richmond border seemed calm. That’s where I was this morning, trying to get to Potrero Hill in San Francisco.

Del Norte is one of the four stations in the East Bay where BART is providing a free roundtrip shuttle to Oakland and SF, and several main AC Transit lines run right by it. That might have helped congestion at the nearby casual carpool line, where there were about 20 cars waiting for riders to walk up.

Bay Area Rapid Transit workers are now on strike after failing to reach a deal on contract negotiations.

The 400,000 commuters who rely on the San Francisco-area rail system are now having to find a different way to get to work. Reports from Oakland say the casual carpool lines are extra busy. Over at the El Cerrito de Norte BART station, a line of free shuttles offering round trips to Oakland and San Francisco is easing the crowds. The ferries are running extra boats, and the lines, while long, are not as bad as some commuters expected.