SF rail union, management resume negotiations
Aug 15, 2009 11:39 PM EST
OAKLAND, Calif. - San Francisco’s commuter rail system union representatives say they and management made progress in talks Saturday and they plan to sit down again in hopes of preventing a Monday strike that would maroon thousands of commuters.
Leaders of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 announced earlier in the week that they would strike Monday after Bay Area Rapid Transit’s board of directors imposed work terms that the union says amount to a 7 percent pay cut.
Two other BART unions already have approved new contracts, and BART spokesman Linton Johnson said ATU should follow suit.
“They can be the heroes in this by not having a strike,” he said.
But Jesse Hunt, president of Local 1555, said the union has been asked to make more than its fair share of concessions. “Obviously, we see it very differently,” he said.
Still, Hunt sounded an optimistic note, saying, “We are very close and are hoping to get this done.”
BART officials confirmed talks were in progress Saturday afternoon but declined to give any specifics.
“BART and ATU are talking, and that’s a good thing,” said BART spokesman Jim Allison.
Both sides emerged in the evening and said they planned to do some more work separately and expected to meet again tomorrow.
“We made some progress today,” Hunt said after the talks concluded.
As the strike threat loomed, other transportation agencies in the region were preparing to increase serv