Politics & Government

BART Talks: Negotiators Meet Late Into The Night; No Agreement Yet

There's just one day left until the 30-day cooling off period ends and BART workers could potentially walk off the job again

BART management and union negotiators were meeting late Saturday night in an attempt to avert a second strike this summer by the transit agency's employees.

The two sides met until 9:30 p.m. Friday and began talks again at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to BART spokesman Rick Rice.

Rice said both sides were still talking as of 10 p.m. Saturday and were scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. Sunday if no agreement was reached Saturday evening.

He said neither side is releasing much information at this point.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," he noted.

The negotiatorsΒ are trying to hammer out an agreement before a 30-day cooling off period expires at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Union leaders already issued a 72-hour strike warning notice on Thursday evening, setting up a potential Monday morning walkout by BART's 2,300 blue-collar union workers.

The workers walked off the job on July 1 when contract talks stalled. They returned on July 5 after the 30-day cooling off period was agreed upon.

BART employees haven't had a pay raise in four years. Union leaders were asking for a 21 percent raise over four years while BART negotiators had offered 8 percent over three years.

The two sides were also discussing how much employees should pay toward benefits and pensions.

If there is a strike Monday morning, Patch has posted a survival guide with information on alternate forms of transportation.


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