BART's unions have indicated that they could announce a 72-hour strike warning today if talks with BART negotiators don't markedly improve this afternoon. The unions also have a rally and march planned in downtown Oakland at 5 p.m., and that 72-hour notice would be due by Friday morning. A flyer released for this evening's rally declares "No More Concessions!"
Union workers plan to march from Frank Ogawa Plaza to BART headquarters this evening. They are pushing not to have to pay more into health insurance or pensions, arguing that it will mean a net decrease in take-home pay after a wage freeze in 2009.
As the Oakland Tribune reports:
BART's 2,300 blue-collar workers make an average of $76,551 in gross pay, easily the highest among California transit agencies, and their benefits -- $92 a month toward health care and nothing toward pensions -- are also among the best for Bay Area government agencies.
However the average numbers don't paint a complete picture, say the unions, because some blue-collar workers with low wages, and with many dependents, will be getting smaller paychecks after BART's proposed 2-percent-a-year wage hikes, arguing that the wage increases aren't off-setting cost of living increases.
There's still a chance that Governor Brown is going to step in and ask for a cooling-off period, but that remains to be seen. And as BART management wanted everyone to hear on Tuesday (despite a gag order issued by mediators), larger wage increases could lead to higher BART fares.
The ferries are, once again, preparing for the worst.
