BART Union, Managers Reach Deal
Tentative contract goes for vote next week
Bay Area Rapid Transit trains are experiencing residual delays of up to 30 minutes this afternoon after a train was cleared from the Transbay Tube after it apparently struck something on a track, according to BART spokesman Jim Allison.
After months of wrangling and 27 hours straight at the table, BART managers and union leaders have reached a tentative deal.
BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger, Services Employees International Union President Lisa Isler, and Amalgamated Transit Union President Jesse Hunt announced the tentative agreement at about 11:30 a.m.
Dugger said the proposal "will help put us on financially stable footing."
The three unions represent more than 2,800 BART workers.
The tentative four-year contract represents a lot of sacrifice and compromise on all sides, the transit agency says, and will help them reach the goal of cutting $100 million in labor costs in order to cope with its large budget deficit.
Union members will vote on the contract next week. Union leaders say they are pretty confident their members will accept the terms.
Details are still emerging but the unions say it is good for them because the contract does not call for layoffs or salary cuts.
