Courtesy of Mish.
The average BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) worker makes over $76,000 per year, plus huge benefits. Janitors make as much as $82,752. But the unions want more. And they are willing to bankrupt the region to get more.
In my opinion, San Francisco is already bankrupt due to pension obligations that cannot possibly be met (but the city may not realize that yet).
Oakland is without a doubt bankrupt due to public union pension obligations. Oakland city officials likely realize that (but they just do not want to admit the obvious).
In due time, both Bay Area cities will follow Vallejo, Stockton, and San Bernardino into bankruptcy. In the meantime, unions are hell bent are driving cities right over the bankruptcy cliff.
With that backdrop, please consider San Francisco Bay Area transit unions threaten midnight strike.
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit workers are threatening a midnight strike because contract talks have reached an impasse.
Earlier Thursday, Roxanne Sanchez, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said the transit agency and its two largest unions have “come extremely close” to agreement on economic, health care and pension issues. However, she said the parties remained apart on work rule issues.
She said the workers would walk off the job at midnight unless BART officials agree to submit the remaining issue to arbitration.
Talks began in April, three months before the June 30 contract expirations, but both sides were far apart. The unions initially asked for 23.2 percent in raises over three years. BART countered with a four-year contract with 1% raises contingent on the agency meeting economic goals.
Workers represented by the two unions, including more than 2,300 mechanics, custodians, station agents, train operators and clerical staff, now average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually, the transit agency said. BART workers currently pay $92 a month for health care and contribute nothing toward their pensions.
BART Workers Plan to Strike Friday
SF Gate reports BART Workers Plan to Strike Friday
Roxanne Sanchez, president of Service Employees International Union 1021, said Thursday afternoon that they met BART on its health care and pension requests, but the two sides still could not come to an agreement on pay and work conditions.
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