BART Unions Give Notice Of Possible Strike

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Two of San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit's largest unions gave notice that they plan to go on strike if they don't reach a new contract deal over the weekend.

The unions gave 72-hour notice of a possible strike late Thursday night as a courtesy to passengers so they could make alternate plans for a potentially chaotic Monday morning commute. The strike would start when their contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

BART's last strike lasted six days in 1997. About 400,000 riders use BART each weekday.

The warning does not guarantee that employees will strike. Negotiations are scheduled to continue through the weekend.

One of the unions, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 1021, has scheduled a news conference Friday morning outside of Oakland's City Hall.

Employees want a 5 percent annual raise over the next three years. Currently, train operators and station agents are paid in the low $60,000 range. Employees average $16,590 in overtime annually and pay a flat $92 monthly fee for health insurance.

BART has offered a 1 percent raise annually over the next four years and wants employees to contribute to their pensions.

BART announced at a news conference earlier Thursday that it was offering the unions a new contract proposal.

SEIU spokeswoman Leah Berlanga said Friday they objected to BART publicly disclosing the proposal before giving it to the union.

"The stunt that BART pulled yesterday by doing a press conference before they gave us the proposals was very inappropriate," she said. "That's not bargaining in good faith."

BART spokesman Rick Rice said Friday there was still "plenty of time" to reach an agreement.

"There was some progress yesterday, with both sides making proposals and responses," he said. "We're looking forward to continuing that when we meet again today and through the weekend."

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.