In response to the union leader’s statement tonight, BART would welcome an end to the strike. The union leaders’ letter is simply a repeat of the same unacceptable offer they made at the bargaining table yesterday before the union leaders ordered members to walk off the job.
BART has made a last, best and final offer that includes a 12 percent wage increase, an opportunity to earn up to $4,000 in bonuses and only modest contributions to pension and health care costs. Union members deserve a chance to vote on this offer.
A strike is a serious and regrettable action that affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
BART wants to negotiate and end this strike. Union leaders need to be serious about making significant changes to their last offer.
When union leaders say both sides were close on economic issues, they ignore the fact that the work rules changes that BART so desperately needs to operate more efficiently are an integral part of the economics.
We believe that to reach a tentative agreement that’s financially responsible, we need to bargain the entire agreement, not just sections of it. The BART Board of Directors may consider arbitration but only arbitration of the entire offer. We’re calling on union leaders to return to the bargaining table and bargain in a way that considers all of the issues as a whole.
This was in response to a joint letter by the SEIU and ATU 1555 and SEIU 1021 to the BART Board of Directors and the General Manager laying out six points to resolve the strike.
These six points cover both economics and workplace practices. The union issued a strong call for interest based arbitration on the workplace practices and open supplemental issues and renewed a commitment to tentative economic agreements made during negotiations.
A copy of the joint letter can be found at: http://www.seiu1021.org/files/2013/10/SEIU1021ATU155-Letter101813.pdf
