BART agrees to 9 day extension of union contracts

Late on the evening of June 27th, BART agreed to extend the contracts with its two largest unions nine days past the June 30 contract expiration.  The extension means the contracts would end on Thursday, July 9 at midnight.

 “Despite three months of negotiations, the union leaders have still failed to agree to significant cost saving proposals,” BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger said. “I hope the additional nine days will give us enough time to reach a settlement that achieves the $100 million in savings needed to close the four-year, $250 million deficit.

While BART has taken actions to reduce its $250 million, four-year deficit to approximately $110 million by cutting costs and asking riders to pay higher fares, the union leadership must step up to the plate and do their fair share.   The BART Board has set a target of $100 million in labor cost savings as the employees’ fair share of eliminating the deficit.

BART is also extending the ground rules of negotiation, which require the unions to give the public 72 hours notice if they make the unfortunate decision to inconvenience the working men and women of the Bay Area by deciding to strike.