Details emerged last night about the deal struck between BART management and their workers' unions on Monday, and the unions certainly came close to getting what they wanted by the 11th hour. The unions, back in July, were asking for 4% annual wage increases, and as of last week, BART was offering 3%. That number came up to 3.8% in the final hours, with some of that money functioning as a pension swap while workers begin, for the first time, paying a portion of their salaries into their state pensions.

As the Chron and others report, the overall salary bump comes to 15.4% by the end of the four-year contract, including the .72 percent pension swap. Workers will pay 1% of their salaries into their pensions the first year, with that number rising to 4% by the end of the contract.

Also, the unions agreed to a hike in the flat monthly contribution that workers make toward their health insurance, which will rise from $92 to $129 -- quite a bit higher than the 9.5% increase BART was offering last week, so this sounds like a trade-off.

The unions asked for and got a few new safety issues addressed, including the installation of bulletproof glass in 15 station-agent booths.

There remain a few more details to be worked out with an arbitrator, but all told, it sounds like the strike was a success for workers. And regardless how you feel about how well paid BART workers are, please refer back here if you believe that they're all rolling in dough and refer here for median income figures in the Bay Area.

[Chron]
[Mercury-News]