BART strike: Unions give 72-hour notice of shutdown (8/8/13)
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BrianPR3
Service Attendant
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
BART is much more expensive than other US heavy rail systems. And these motormen still want to strike?
George Harris
Engineer
Yup, and not just the motormen.
In one recent news article one of the car cleaners was quoted as saying that it was dark in the tunnels and he ffelt unsafe at times, and felt that $24 an hour was not sufficient for what he had to do. I leave it to others to comment.
VentureForth
Engineer
Fire them all. Or raise the fares to what needs to be collected to pay for the service. Either way, they will find out real quickly how badly they are needed.
Merely delaying the inevitable?
Judge orders cooling-off period to prevent another BART strike - http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-judge-orders-cooling-off-period-to-prevent-another-bart-strike-20130811,0,553911.story
"Although BART and its biggest unions -- SEIU Local 1021, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 and AFSCME Local 3993 -- bargained until late Saturday night, not much progress was made, and the hearing began at 9 a.m. Sunday.
"San Francisco court officials say that in recent memory the courts here have never officially opened on a weekend for a public proceeding.
"After seeing an edited version of the necessary paperwork, Karnow said he signed it and the two-month hiatus began. The parties are scheduled to resume negotiating at 1 p.m."
Westbound at West Oakland, July 2007 (WhoozPhoto):
Judge orders cooling-off period to prevent another BART strike - http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-judge-orders-cooling-off-period-to-prevent-another-bart-strike-20130811,0,553911.story
"Although BART and its biggest unions -- SEIU Local 1021, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 and AFSCME Local 3993 -- bargained until late Saturday night, not much progress was made, and the hearing began at 9 a.m. Sunday.
"San Francisco court officials say that in recent memory the courts here have never officially opened on a weekend for a public proceeding.
"After seeing an edited version of the necessary paperwork, Karnow said he signed it and the two-month hiatus began. The parties are scheduled to resume negotiating at 1 p.m."
Westbound at West Oakland, July 2007 (WhoozPhoto):
(Not taking a stance on any of this, just a comment)
To be fair, $24 in the Bay Area is not the same as $24 elsewhere...
Just to weigh in... I make $21.90 an hour ON OVERTIME. And I work a very risky job (firefighter, professional) to boot. Also, I live in Northern California and have to contend with the same cost of living as any in the Bay Area.
No. $24 is NOT so different. And it is WAY too much for a damn coach cleaner. Period. :angry2:
BrianPR3
Service Attendant
apparently from an employee (who will remain nameless) that this is all one sided
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/barts-lead-negotiator-has-a-history-of-illegal-behavior/Content?oid=3647205
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BART-union-s-demands-include-firing-negotiator-4660652.php
also bart spent 300,000 to spend money on a negoator who has a bias and was caught breaking the law
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/barts-lead-negotiator-has-a-history-of-illegal-behavior/Content?oid=3647205
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BART-union-s-demands-include-firing-negotiator-4660652.php
BART strikes blocked for now; no progress on talks
So we have until October to get this dispute resolved without the trains being held up. Will negotiations resume only in late September?
Blackwolf - I'm just saying that people who live outside of NorCal really don't have much perception as to what $24/hour pays for out there. That was my only point. It sounds like a LOT of money to someone from Michigan because rent on a 2-bdr apartment is about $700-800 here. That's all I meant.
I hate to say that I find that quote amusing, but on some level I do find the whining (and that is, in fact, what it comes across as based on my knowledge of the situation) of that poster/writer to be amusing. I wonder what, even controlling for cost-of-living, bus drivers and the like are making in the South or in the Mountain West...
In fairness though I think the $24 an hour cleaner (System Service Worker) is someone who is at the top step of the pay scale and not someone who just got hired off the street. Looking at the base wage scale in the recently expired CBA someone in that category making $24 an hour has been working for the district for at least five years.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
They do what they want, I don't care anymore. I'm not going to ride the expensive BART anyways unless I really need to run quick. Muni Metro is a better deal, and pretty fast, too.
Los Angeles has high cost-of-living as well, but LACMTA only costs $1.50 for a ride. You see what I mean?
Los Angeles has high cost-of-living as well, but LACMTA only costs $1.50 for a ride. You see what I mean?
True, though at least to me, $50k/yr (presumably plus benefits) does seem to be a bit much for a glorified janitor considering that my experience is that skilled machinists often don't get more than something in that range.
Ryan
Court Jester
Pay machinists more, then. 50k in the Bay Area goes about as far as 32k in the Tidewater area.
I didn't realize it was that bad outside of SF. I know San Francisco proper is awful, but I didn't know how bad it was once you got off of the Peninsula.
There is Nowhere in California that's Cheap to LIve! And 50K a year isnt exactly Mitt Romney Money! Texas has a Low Cost of Living compared to the Coasts and Big Cities but also is on the Bottom in almost every Category of Social Measurement including Low Wages and the Most Number of People without Health Insurance! Hence Low Wage/No Benefits Employers are Flocking here! Most of the so called "Jobs" that our Politicians and Boosters tout are Minimum Wage/No Benefits Service Jobs! (for example our Wait Persons are paid $2.13 an Hour plus tips!
) Most Texans would Love to make $50K a Year but Never will!
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Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Still, with the popularity of the system combined with very high fares, I would expect BART to make a profit. An actual operating profit is the only excuse for this.
BART does rather well as transit systems go, covering 64% of its operating costs via the fare box. But 100% is unlikely to ever be practical unless they only run the trains during rush hour. As soon as one runs off peak service the ball game is pretty much over for covering all operating costs.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Then BART still has no excuse for $8.25 to the airport. I guess I'll have to contend with SF congestion while riding a SamTrans bus to the airport. I don't live in SF, so is there any other way to get there? International flight are expensive from here.
