BART To Vote on Labor Contract

by Bay City News

BART workers from two of the transit agency's unions are voting in Oakland today on a tentative contract agreement following a lengthy labor dispute with management that prompted two strikes in July and last month. Members from Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents 1,430 mechanics, custodians and clerical workers, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, which represents 945 station agents, train operators and foreworkers, will be voting throughout the day on a new four-year contract.

SEIU 1021 union leaders will hold the vote at Oakland Marriott City Center Hotel until 10 p.m. Union representatives expect to announce the results around 11 p.m. There will be three meetings in an unspecified Oakland location where ATU 1555 members can vote throughout the day. Those results are expected to be announced late tonight. If the two unions ratify the agreement, which was reached after a four-day strike in mid-October, the BART board of directors would then vote on the new contract at a meeting later this month, BART spokesman Jim Allison said. He said the board's next scheduled meeting is Nov. 21 but they will likely schedule a special meeting sooner. A majority of the board is required to approve the contract, he said. The unions' strikes stemmed from an ongoing labor dispute that required federal mediators to step in to negotiate terms about wages, benefits and safety and work conditions.