Although BART and the two transit unions still couldn't arrive at a deal before last night's midnight deadline, both sides agreed to a three day contract extension to keep the trains running over the weekend. The unions say they will — for sure, no really, definitely this time — strike if no deal is reached by Monday.

From the horse's mouth:

The temporary deal came just 15 minutes before midnight last night, when the 60-day cooling period ordered by Governor Jerry Brown was set to expire.

Late Thursday afternoon, BART management said it was sweetening the deal for the union workers and had improved on their offer of 10.25% wage increase over four years. On the other hand, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union said there had been "no significant movement" yesterday. The unions were looking for something closer to an 18.4% increase in pay.

Talks are expected to resume at 10 a.m. Friday with BART General Manager Grace Crunican expected to show up at the negotiating table. (She had previously farmed that duty out other negotiators.)

Previously: All BART Strike coverage.
[MercuryNews]
[KRON4]