Catherwood LibraryILR School

Trouble at the Bay Area Transit company continues as the results of union contract votes come back in. Although two of the three main unions voted to approve the contract, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, representing about 900 station agents and train operators, voted 2-1 against the new deal. The contract, intended to save the company $100 million in labor costs, included a wage freeze, reduced overtime, and benefit caps, and covered four years. Local 1555 president Jesse Hunt, who campaigned for acceptance of the contract, feels that a two-year agreement might be more appealing, as it would give workers a chance to re-negotiate if the economy approved. For now BART management and the union return to the bargaining table, but if it doesn't go well, and quickly, management proposes to impose terms, and the union threatens, once again, to strike.