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Work rules for employees emerged as a key issue in BART contract negotiations that resulted in union leaders announcing that workers would go on strike last Friday.
Josie Mooney, a lead negotiator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said union leaders offered to go to arbitration to try to resolve differences about management’s proposed changes to work rules but management refused.
Speaking to reporters outside the Caltrans building in downtown Oakland where contract talks took place, Mooney said the unions’ plan to go on strike “was not about money” but instead was about “an employer who wants to go on strike.”
Antonette Bryant, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, said in a statement that, “We’ve found agreement on nearly every ‘must-have’ issue for both sides including wages, pensions and benefits.”
But she alleged that in the last 72 hours of negotiations, management demanded “new and unreasonable” workplace authority that would give managers “license to abuse and extort our workers.”
BART management spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the transit agency wants work rules to be part of a comprehensive agreement with its employees, not a separate matter that would be decided in arbitration.
Trost said management wants to change work rules because it believes it would make BART more efficient and save money.
Rick Rice, another BART spokesman, said, “Work rule changes are very important and we’re insisting on them.”
Although Bryant said the unions had found agreement with management on wage, pensions and other benefits, Rice said management was still “far apart” from the unions on those issues.
BART Board President Tom Radulovich said last Monday that one work rule management wants to change is a provision that allows workers to get overtime even on weeks when they call in sick for a day if they work an extra day when they weren’t originally scheduled to work.
“They can get overtime even though they don’t work 40 hours,” Radulovich said.
He said, “Most of our workers don’t do that, but some do.”
Radulovich said current work rules that management believes favor workers are “a very expensive proposition” for BART.
Rice said at this point no further meetings between management and the unions are scheduled.
“I don’t know when we might meet again,” he said.
Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News
By
Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News
By
When I read that a work rule allowing overtime for less than 40 hours is demanded, I come to the conclusion that the strikers should be fired and replaced by the people who would be pleased with the salary and benefit package currently offered. Most of these jobs are not skilled labor and could be replaced with relative ease.
Bart would legally need 3 months to train a new workforce. Start today.
Imagine that. BART workers demanding that they get overtime for working on the week-ends over and above their 40-hour shift.
Next thing you know they’ll be demanding paid vacations, maternity leave, and the right to unionize.
You just can’t trust union workers, anywhere.
I’m trying to help the whining public and their Plutonian cheerleaders to get a grip, find a job, stop being lifers…duh…if you have deeply rooted desires of inequality for all…eat crow!
I’m so delighted that this STRIKE has give you all a taste of reality.
BART negotiators are not only dodo birds, they make civilized society smell.
PHEW!
We Are The Spooky Men – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvCFIposH_g
HAPPY Hallows Day FORMER BART COMMUTERS AND PALS!
The union requires BART workers to show up to a certain station to get their assignments and then to travel to where they are supposed to work. This takes a couple of hours out of each day per person. Allow the workers to start their work at the place of work.
Make overtime available only to those who have actually worked 40 hours in that week. Do not count sick or vacation time.
Workers should pay for their pensions like non-government workers have to pay for social security. Or better yet, stop this whole government pension system and put all government workers on social security. If it is good enough for the US citizen, it is good enough for the government worker.
As I understand it, miss thing general manager/BART gets FREE MEDICAL CARE FOR LIFE AFTER WORKING ONLY 2 YRS FOR BART…HOW DID SHE MANAGE THAT?
TAXPAYERS OUTSLICKED BY GM OF BART! GO GIRL!
Plus, she can remain obese as long as she desires…tee hee
daveg, you actually read cholo’s postings and don’t just skip to the next when you see his name like the rest of us?
I thought “Cholo” meant “skip” in Spanish.
Dede reads ALL of my posts!
She asks questions to help her understand what I’m posting.
I’m willing to provide guidance to slow learners but not to hold her hand and eSplain my meaning…he doesn’t always catch my drift not matter how many I esplain to her.
no no no, I’m don’t wish to pamper any of my fans.
Missy Dede will not be treated any differently than any other fan!
After all, FAIR IS FAIR!
ps some folks are hard wired and understandably have problems catching my drift…I will admit that Daveg is in one of his mothly periods and that’s why he is sooooo hot headed!
Como puede ser? How can it be?
Please esplain how come so many BART managers make so much money? How did they get away with it?
Por favor/please esplain it?
I’m waiting!
We need to bring in Donald Trump to negotiate on behalf of the taxpayers/residents. He would fix the problem in two words:
You’re fired!
Good thinking Kathleen. I’m going to Xerox your comment and send to the Governor, the President, and Premiers/Kings/Dictators of countries that do not permit strikes. Doesn’t this just frost your rear-end?
Then why are you writing to us when only the Governor has responsibility? No, I think we need to share your illuminations with all the enlightened dictatorships around the world who don’t allow their workers to unionize, strike, or ride public transportation for free. Please continue to do the valuable work you do!
Right you are, Little Miss Empathy. Because going a day without being paid is no inconvenience at all. But of course if all one can do is play the hate-laced victim card, it’s probably pretty difficult to understand the inconveniences of a strike, especially for those who are striking.
Workers elected to strike. Workers elected their leaders. I don’t see BART workers busting through picket lines out of discontent with peers and leaders. You lose once again, Kathleen, and not surprisingly.
Let’s be clear, Kathleen, which means stepping outside of your little Tea Party bubble. The workers chose to strike. Their leaders didn’t force them to, despite your imaginary flights of fancy. Going without wages is truly an inconvenience. You forgot about that inconvenient fact when you expressed your horror that a union leader stated the obvious. Now you’re kicking up dirt to preserve your preciously fragile ego.
I’m sure the workers desired a strike less than anyone. They are far more inconvenienced than most commuters. They struck because they believe in something. All you appear to believe in is that public transportation workers shouldn’t be allowed to ride the rails for free. Quite a principled stand, Kathleen. You may now go back to licking your wounded ego.
@Da-Veg
Learn how to use English grammar properly and people may then be able to understand what you’re trying to say.
Union workers are not sheep, Kathleen. They are not easily cowed nor do they march in lockstep as do you and your Tea Party friends. I have seen no reports of internal strife in the union. I have seen no calls to have union leadership replaced. You’re creating a tempest in a teapot because you really don’t have anything to say of substance or fact.
And what about your expressed horror in response to a union leader saying union workers were inconvenienced? Oh, yeah, that. As per usual, your arguments spin into nowhere until you’ve succeeded in blowing up a site.
Now you and Da-Veg are trying to tell us all about how unions should conduct their affairs. Do you think anyone cannot see the humor in that? You’re both two peas from the same pod, and you’re both hilarious.
It’s quite clear that the STRIKE has freaked out certain posters! I can’t tell you how tickled I am…tee hee
Their anger is so very obvious, predictive.
Before I go to sleep I’ll chant OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM for about 17 seconds, maybe that will help them chill.
Like they say, I’m in HIGH COTTON!
If daveg wants to untangle some stuck all up in there skivies, I strongly recommend trying Bend ‘n Stretch…get rid of all those naughty creases, use a little soap ‘n water and call it a day!
The STRIKE! will most likely hang around tomorrow as well. Please try to be civil and quit posing such concrete questions. You always have so many cutie- pie questions to prove. Demanding that somebody answer with a Yes or No really is more about how much help you need help to unravel all those secret internal knots.
Halloween is almost here: dark, stinky stinky spooky spooky!
Does anybody know how come daveg is so caught up with the BART strike?
And, trying to control others…hmmmmmmmmmmm…
Yes, Da-Veg and Kathleen make quite a pair. One of them garbles something about putting Bart management up for a union vote (your guess is as good as mine on that one); the other gets twisted into a pretzel over Bart workers being able to ride Bart free — and no matter that Bart workers are on strike. That free ridership issue really burns her keester. I wonder if she sits at home during the evening calculating what fraction of her taxes go toward subsidizing public transportation workers riding free.
At least this evening there’s to Bart to catch a free ride on. Rather than stewing over this, she should be celebrating the fraction of a penny she probably saved today.
Cholo’s right. Too many freaked out about Bart (all two of you, Da-Veg and Kathleen), though my guess, Cholo, is that all this is residue from the drubbing their Tea Party darlings took in response to their repeated stunts while closing down government.
Oh, so now the goalposts are moved. It’s not how much workers are inconvenienced, which was Kathleen’s original lament; now it’s how much union LEADERS are inconvenienced, because that’s a really important thing to know. Why, I imagine inasmuch as they may be BART riders themselves, they are as inconvenienced as are many commuters and the employers who need them at work.
How much are Da-Veg and his close ally Kathleen inconvenienced? How much is BART management inconvenienced?
Okay, so thanks to Kathleen for having dealt with this critical issue. We award her three special Koch Brothers’ stars on her forehead for her yeoman’s efforts. Next!
Joe kind of shows his ignorance on this thread. First, the BART union doesn’t know what a 40 hour work week is, and secondly they can call in sick, then work a week end of overtime not even coming close to their 37.5 normal work week. Gee, perhaps eventually we, the general public, that is stuck with an out of control transit union, will muster up enough support to force our legislatures to pass legislation that bans strikes by public transit unions. Joe, take the time to read the following link and than come back and try to seriously support the union demands.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/barnidge/ci_24322619/barnidge-worker-demands-werent-only-ridiculous-thing-about
Ms. Cholo’s ramblings continue with absolutely nothing of value added. If she wants to comment on the general manager, start a separate posting. Somehow her childish ranting’s on this posting have nothing to do with the fact that work rules need to change to allow BART to operate with some semblance of efficiency.
I know I should………..!
From PBS, The Newshour this evening: Peter Castelli, SEIU, : We are very sorry. we understand that this strike, what it does to Bay Area riders, and we understand that it is a hardship. Our union represents a lot, thousands of folks; a lot of them are riders, and we know that this process is difficult.” No mention that those “folks” ride for free or that they weren’t scrambling to find ways to get to work today.
Knock yourself out, but only the Governor has any responsibility in this case.
Just pointing out some of your stellar leadership’s nonsensical statements. Hundreds of thousands inconvenienced today, but he wants us to have empathy for a few thousand who ride for free and didn’t go to work anyway.
There are your true colors “Joe.” So, you know these union members are on strike because their leadership said it was necessary for them to miss a day’s pay (even though their leadership is getting paid, and from the dues the members pay, right?). Let the members work; let the Bay Area community work. And then realize it’s a solid offer and sign.
Hey Joe, did anybody “forced” those idiots to strike?!
Joe, your arguments ignore the facts. Has the union management put BART’s most recent offer to a vote of the union membership? We all know the answer to that. And if you think only commuters are inconvenienced, you really need to look beyond your own nose to see that such idiotic actions by the union has a much bigger impact on the entire Bay Area than only transit commuters.
Union members don’t vote to strike without leadership telling them it’s necessary. And when a strike is called, members don’t dare not cross the picket line no matter how much they may wish to or how much they need a day’s pay. And in the case of BART, even if they could, what are they going to show up to do?
The union leader did not state the obvious – he left out the truth. I’ve said before that riding for free is a fair enough perk. Just don’t try to equate your free ride to the inconvenience of hundreds of thousands of commuters. You neglected to respond — how much are union leaders losing each day? Nothing.
The ego, fragile or otherwise, is all yours. And I’m still not aligned with the Tea Party. Sticks and stones, Joe.
And let me get that for you, “don’t dare cross” or “dare not cross”
Joe, easy question for you; has the union management put the BART management before their membership for a vote? Yes or No?
When you have already lost the support of your customer base prior to a strike; when you have injured every other person just trying to get to his/her own job, you do not stand in front of a microphone and try to align yourself with the very people you are inconveniencing. Mr. Castelli blundered.
If union membership can report to their jobs if they so desire, announce it and see what happens. No consequences, just say “you are free to choose.”
Still you neglected to respond — how much are union leaders losing each day?
It’s simple enough Joe. Are union leaders losing pay every day? Where is that kind of solidarity with the members?
My original comment was about Mr. Castelli’s statement: “Our union represents a lot, thousands of folks; a lot of them are riders, and we know that this process is difficult.” There is a difference between workers who chose/voted to walk off the job and those forced into untenable situations trying to get to their own jobs. I think what you really can’t understand is I don’t blame the membership for this; I blame their leadership. Members continued to work and would still be working had leadership not announced they were to walk out.
Care to discuss the “work rules” that are the sticking points causing this walk out? Going paperless for example.