Business & Tech

BART Union Spokesperson Says They Will Strike Monday

A union spokesperson tells Patch that unfair labor practices to blame.


Unionized BART workers will be going on strike Monday, according to an SEIU Spokesperson, a move that may create massive congestion on roadways throughout the Bay Area.

“Our people are tired of being disrespected and are tired of being toyed with,” Anna Bakalis, SEIU Spokesperson, told Patch Friday.

“We are going on an unfair labor practices strike, because they haven’t given us the reason that they are demanding 10 percent of our labor and concessions. They are stalling at the bargaining table, bringing all the wrong people who can’t answer our peoples' questions,” Bakalis said. 

According to other media reports, the union has asked Gov. Jerry Brown to delay the strike and order a cooling off period.
 

The union is one of many that unify the workers who operate Bay Area Rapid Transit trains and maintain the safety and cleanliness of the BART stations that run from Millbrae to the East Bay. Union members and commuters who use the lines live throughout the Bay Area, including Redwood City.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.


The reasons that workers are striking revolve around public safety concerns and pay increase negotiations. Union workers say that the conditions in which they are expected to work are unsafe.

For years, workers have been telling management that they need more lighting in the workplace, and a safety inspector to maintain accountability for worker conditions, said Cecille Isidro, SEIU member.   

“The district offered us wage increases in exchange for eliminating the position of a safety inspector,” Isidro told Patch. “Every day our workers are exposed to high-voltage, heavy machinery and what we want is adequate staffing and a safe workplace,” she said. 

“We’re fighting for the future of good jobs here,” Bakalis said.

The Bay Area Council, which some credit with influencing the public policy that helped found BART, said that the demands that the unions are making are outrageous. 

“This is going to affect the entire region by unleashing 400,000 cars in a single day onto Bay Area roads,” said John Grubb, Chief of Staff for Bay Area Council.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

He said that this strike will not only disrupt thousands of lives by creating major congestion on the roads, but it will also be extremely detrimental to the environment as the pollution from the additional commuter vehicles spews into the skies. He also noted that public safety officials would be forced to wade through the traffic when responding to emergencies. 

“The Bay Area Council created BART,” Grubb said.  “We want to see the system succeed and continue to be one of the largest employers in the Bay Area. We are looking out for the region, long-term,” he told Patch.  He said that the bottom line is that the unions are asking for too much money. 

He said a 23 percent pay increase for workers would financially compromise BART in a way that sacrifices the future of the Bay Area.

Bay Area Council President Jim Wunderman said that this strike will essentially take hundreds and thousands of commuters hostage.

“It is not only wrong, it's outrageous,” Wunderman said. “The $130,000 in annual compensation that the average BART worker receives makes them among the best-compensated transit workers in the nation. The average Bay Area resident should only be so lucky,” he added.

BART management says that the unions have rejected the idea of having workers contribute to their pension plan and changing their health benefits. 

BART workers say that the management steering the conversation away from the real issue, which is addressing safety concerns for the workers.

BART workers are scheduled to go on strike at midnight on Monday. Bakalis said that other unions have joined in the strike. About 5,000 people will be stepping off the job. They will also hold picket lines at Oakland City Hall.

The SEIU Local 521 office is located in Redwood City, California at 891 Marshall Street.

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here