Contract negotiations between Municipal Railway operators and the bosses who run San Francisco's transit agent skidded to a halt Monday, with union representatives refusing to give up more control of scheduling and discipline. Union leaders say they won't agree to Muni managers' demands without a promise of better pay and benefits. The current labor agreement expires June 30. Under law, Muni drivers cannot strike, but management relies on their cooperation to keep the system from falling apart. "They stormed out of my office. They didn't like what I was telling them," said Nathaniel Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which runs Muni.
See "Muni talks freeze - union won't budge", Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, June 9, 2008