BART Strike: Area of the Bay of San Francisco's transit unions approve Walk-Off after failing talks

OAKLAND, California (AP)--two San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit's largest Union went on strike since the weekend with management talks has been able to produce a new contract, guaranteeing a nightmare journey ahead for travelers Monday.

The strike was called as contracts of service employees International Union Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 workers expired at midnight on Sunday. Trade unions and the Administration earlier in the day said they were separated in the main points of friction, including salaries, pensions, health and safety.

"I am deeply disappointed, it has come to this," negotiator SEIU Josie Mooney said to reporters at a midnight press conference.

"Our members are not interested in disrupting the Bay area, but management has put us in a position where we have no choice," said the President of the Local ATU Antonette Bryant.

Negotiations fell apart Saturday and unions walked away from the table. The Office of the Governor of California Jerry Brown urged both sides to resume discussions on Sunday with the horizon in rush hour. But talks between the two parties came to an end shortly before 20:30, when Union negotiators left the State Office building in Oakland, which had been opened for the day as a neutral meeting ground.

BART accused Union negotiators get away from the negotiating table while Union negotiators replied that it was embedded in the Union Hall and told management that they had until midnight to offer a new proposal it considers.

The strike is to derail the riders more than 400,000 who use the rail in fifth place of the nation and affect every mode of transportation. Transportation authorities say could be another 60,000 vehicles on the road, obstruction of roads and bridges in the Bay area.

The unions, which represent nearly 2,400 train operators, agents of the station, mechanics, maintenance and professional staff workers, called for an annual increase of 5 percent over the next three years. BART said on Saturday that train operators and agents of the station on average unions approximately $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in time extra per year. Workers also pay a monthly fee of $92 flat for health insurance.

Spokesman BART Rick Rice said BART had its original offer of a 4 percent pay increase over the next four years to 8%. The proposed salary increase is also an increase of 1% employees were scheduled to receive on Monday, said Rice. .

The transit agency also stated that it offered to reduce the contribution of the employees would have to make to their pensions and lower the cost of health premiums would have to pay.

Bryant said Sunday that the latest proposal of BART is not a real wage increase, calling it "surface bargaining".

Latest BART strike lasted six days in 1997. The handles of the the transit agency more than 40 per cent of travelers coming from the East Bay to San Francisco with the Bay Bridge handling 50 percent, said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Other agencies of transport in the region urged travelers to consider sharing vehicles, buses or ferries, working from home, and if you must work, leave earlier or even later than usual.

Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee said the city will offer more transportation options, including at the airport and increase staff for the management of traffic. BART said that you will allow travelers to use parking lots in their 33 seasons for free in order to share the trip.

BART Strike: San Francisco transit agency talks continue then Governor Jerry Brown steps (video)

SAN FRANCISCO - hundreds of thousands of travelers in the San Francisco Bay area have at least a temporary suspension of a massive transport strike when gov. Jerry Brown took part in a labor contract dispute.

Order 11th hour on Sunday night prevented the strike and the morning trip to continue normally, without widespread congestion trips that would have created a strike of Bay Area Rapid Transit, fifth largest railroad line of the nation, on the left.

In the order, Brown appointed a Board of researchers for an investigation of seven days in the dispute of the contract which had prepared to walk off the job at midnight on Sunday the unions.

The order issued Brown came under a law that allows the State's intervention if a strike significantly disrupt public transport services and endangering public health.

"For the sake of the people of the Bay area, urge you - in the strongest possible terms - parties to meet quickly and the time required to reach this dispute resolved," Brown said in the order.

Board will report its conclusions to the Governor, who can then petition the Court that calls for a 60-day cooling period, said Evan Westrup, a spokesman for Brown. The report explains BART and positions of trade unions, but not to criticize or issue a recommendation.

In a statement, spokesman BART Rick Rice said that Chairman of the Board Tom Radulovich transit authority sent a letter to the Governor requesting their intervention and a 60-day cooling period. The Governor issued an order with considerably less time a week.

"The formal impartial investigation that accompanies the period of reflection will help to clarify the points of difference between the proposals," said the statement.

Union leaders issued a critical statement after the order, accusing the binding BART management negotiators until they stayed only a few hours before the strike would have started to provide alternative proposals on the basis of pay and benefits.

"Our hope is that Research Council of Governor will reveal how little time BART management has been on the negotiating table in the last 30 days, compared to how much time has passed to the media, the position", said the President of SEIU 1021 Roxanne Sánchez.

Spokesman BART Alicia Trost said Sunday afternoon that is "extremely frustrating" that unions were misrepresenting the proposals of improvements that have been received, including wage increases, and the transit authority was working all weekend despite allegations of absence.

"We have made several proposals this weekend and all going in one direction and was above, above, above," Trost said.

Bay Area Rapid Transit managers and Union leaders had returned to the negotiating table on Sunday in the hope of avoiding a strike that would have affected 400,000 travelers and created nightmares of traffic for the area of San Francisco for the second time in a month.

Representatives of the two largest unions of employees in the Agency and BART management negotiated for about 14 hours on Saturday and resumed Sunday morning trading as be seen a deadline of midnight. Brown's order came at around 22:30 on Sunday.

Remain large differences on key issues, including wages, pensions, safety of workers and health care costs.

Union train operators and agents of station average approximately $71,000 in wage base and $11,000 in time extra per year. They pay nothing toward their pensions and a flatrate of $92 per month for the health insurance, according to BART.

To weigh allegations of binding Sunday afternoon, previously in the weekend Union leaders expressed cautious hope for agreement and said progress was being made.

"The parties made some important but incremental moves yesterday, and I hope to reach an agreement," Josie Mooney, Chief negotiator for the Service Employees International Union 1021, said Sunday before heading to the negotiations. "If the parties work very hard, then it is certainly possible in the amount of time that we have."

"Definitely there was movement on both sides," Chief negotiator BART Thomas Hock said as he left the final negotiations Saturday night. "I hope that, if we are moving ahead, we will arrive at a proposal which both parties can agree."

Two of BART's largest unions issued a 72-hour notice on Thursday that employees outside of work if they do not reach agreement on a new contract by midnight Sunday.

"BART is the backbone of the network of transit. Any other transit agency has the ability to absorb the capacity of BART if there is a disruption, "said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

In the event of a strike, transit agencies had planned to add bus and ferry service, carpool lanes kept open throughout the day and even give coffee gift cards to encourage drivers to pick up riders. Also they were encouraging workers to avoid rush hour traffic or distance if possible.

When BART workers closed train service for four days at the beginning of July, the roads were packed and travelers waited in long queues for buses and ferries. Unions agreed to cancel that attack and extend their contracts until Sunday, while they continued negotiations.

Area of the Bay and State have been pressuring officials of BART and Union leaders to reach an agreement this weekend, saying that a strike would create hardship for working families and damage to the economy of the region.

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Mohajer reported from Los Angeles.

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