BART Workers on Strike Until Further Notice

BART workers went on strike Monday and are noisily picketing in San Francisco at the Montgomery station. 
   
Men and women who are members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 stood on the sidewalks outside of an unusually quiet transit station waving signs and blaring noise horns at 8 a.m. They do not know how long they will be striking, or how long BART riders will have to seek alternative means of getting from the East Bay to San Francisco. 

“We’re going to be here until we get a fair contract,” said Matt Perricone, captain of the protesters. The main concerns are riders and worker compensation, he said. 

The Bay Area Rapid Transit system is the fifth largest transportation hub in the world, in terms of ridership numbers, according to a report by BBC News. Workers estimate that about 400,000 commuters will be displaced from throughout the Bay Area. 

Perricone said workers were forced to strike because the union workers and Bay Area Rapid Transit management could not agree on a compensation package for workers.  

They, along with SEIU union members and retired union workers, will be out on the streets, picketing until an agreement is reached.  They are not being paid while they are on strike, they said. 

For a more in depth look at the reasons the workers went on strike, read Patch's previous coverage here.

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