ATU Union Urges BART to Honor Contract

One of the region's major transit unions has called on Bay Area Rapid Transit to honor the labor contract it signed last month, despite a last-minute dispute over family medical leave.

Antonette Bryant, president of Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1555, said Tuesday that BART's board of directors needs to honor its word and approve the contract. The board is scheduled to vote Thursday.

BART officials have claimed that they did not agree to a provision giving workers six weeks of paid annual leave to care for sick family members. They have said the provision could cost $44 million over four years if one-third of union workers take six-week leaves each year.

Bryant also released a timeline disputing BART's claim and estimating the provision would cost only $1.4 million each year.