Politics & Government
BART Strike Will Continue Into Monday; Unions Offer New Proposal on Work Rules (UPDATED)
An emergency board of directors meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Monday.
UPDATE: Officials with two striking BART unions said they had submitted a new proposal Sunday evening that would offer flexibility on some work rules but retain others related to worker safety.
Officials with Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 said the proposal would allow for changes in work rules related to implementing new technology, but retain work rules related to worker and passenger safety.
Further details were not immediately made public Sunday evening.
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BART and union officials have previously said that changes in work rules sought by BART remain a key sticking point in contract talks that broke down on Thursday, leading to a strike that began Friday.
Today's proposal comes after a fatal collision on Saturday that killed two BART workers who were on the tracks near Walnut Creek for maintenance work. The unions emphasized that work rules protect workers from such workplace accidents.
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"The job of a BART worker can be dangerous," union member Saul Almanza, who trains workers on safety procedures and protocols, said in a statement. "Work rules protect our members from the type of accidents that happened yesterday."
The fatal collision is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, and it has not been established who was at the controls of the train that struck the workers.
BART has previously said, however, that it was training some
managers to operate trains for maintenance purposes in the event of a strike.
Union officials said Sunday evening that they had warned BART repeatedly in writing about the dangers of allowing non-union personnel to operate the trains, and filed a lawsuit on Oct. 7 in Alameda County Superior Court to block the practice.
--PREVIOUSLY: BART's board of directors will hold an emergency meeting Monday as a systemwide strike by transit employees seems sure to continue into a fourth day.
BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying that no new talks between the transit agency and its two biggest unions have been scheduled as of Sunday afternoon.
"Since there is no announced end to the strike, commuters are urged to continue to make alternative plans for Monday," Trost said.
The BART Board of Directors will hold a special closed session meeting on Monday at 3 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations, Trost said.
Key holdups in contract negotiations continue to be "wages and important work rule changes," Trost said.
"BART is open to restarting mediated talks if the mediator determines it is appropriate to continue," she said.
Trost said that the death of two BART workers on Saturday during track maintenance work in Contra Costa County has "redoubled everyone's commitment to a quick resolution so we can move forward in a spirit of cooperation to provide service to the Bay Area."
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