Monday, June 22, 2009

Fare hike and maybe a BART strike on July 1st?

According to SF Chronicle, BART Management and Union leaders are in negotiations to determine a compromise. Rachel Gorodn reports, "Management hopes to slice $100 million from the deficit by cutting labor costs. The proposed savings would come by diminishing health care and pension benefits and changing work rules that would give management more say over employee assignments - measures BART officials say are necessitated by the economic conditions." A pact must be reached by July 1st.

A strike, actually, will work against BART and the workers' favor. Why? A strike and sudden termination in service will only force employers to increasingly embrace telecommuting. And after realizing that productivity doesn't decline with telecommuting, guess what? BART will only lose passengers..permanently. I'm not saying all employers will allow telecommuting all of a sudden, but even if 10% of them do, that is significant revenue loss for BART.

Also on July 1st, our fares will go up by 6.1%. Watch your ticket value! Not to mention, train service will decrease starting September.

The real losers in all this drama-- passengers who rely on BART to get to work and make a living.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nobody wins. Period. As an employee, in this economy the last thing I want to even think about is a strike. Unfortunately I have little to no say what happens during negotiations. I have not really bothered to keep up on talks.

Unfortunately, the patrons will be the bigger losers. This really is a bad thing. Sort of like baseball going on strike and fans deciding they had had enough and never came back.

What I was really shocked to learn was the price hike to get SFO. Talk about highway robbery! It is unbelievable what patrons must pay to catch their flight. Of course, much like commuters going to SF for work. It is still cheaper (non carpool) to take the train than park for a day or five days.

Hopefully things work out for all parties and BART does not strike. I guess we all wait until 1 July to see what happens.

Anonymous said...

HAS A EMPLOYEE, IVE HAD FIVE YEARS OF LOW WAGES AND HIGHER MEDICAL. A PAY CUT OF SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS WHILE MANAGEMENT GET BONUS AND PERKS IS UNFAIR AND WORTH STRIKING OVER. THE GOV. NEEDS TO MAKE BOTH SIDES SIT AT THE TABLE AND NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH, NO SCARY AND MISLEADING NEWS ITEMS.

DO YOU WANT YOUR SAFETY IN THE HANDS OF MINIMUM WAGE HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUTS, BECAUSE THAT ALL BART SAID IT CAN AFFORD.

BARTsurfer said...

It does seem like the media is hyping this up and making people fear dreadful consequences. But will it really be that bad? Traffic is normally down during the summer, people can take buses and carpool, and hopefully more people will ride bikes for work and errands. Is the media really making this more sensational than it should be? And if so, what does it do other than cause people to freak out? And does this this fear and anxiety help BART or the union in negotiations? Seems like it would help the union more.

BARTsurfer said...

Interesting update on SFstreetsblog: http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/06/24/one-week-from-contract-expiring-bart-mgmt-and-labor-trade-barbs/

I didn't know that the average BART worker makes $71,663 without overtime. That's not bad! Compare that to the 42% of BART riders who make less than $50,000 annually (household income).

This could get interesting.

Anonymous said...

ya right.. like employers are going to let 33,500 people start working from home now.. ur 10% guess of employers who are going to let their workers work from home is completely sensationalism..

bartmusings said...

Interesting bit about the average BART employee income versus average BART commuter income.

bartmusings said...

Actually, I read that 20% of Bay Area companies consider telecommuting as an option. The percentage in the Valley is even higher.

Anonymous said...

As an employee I think both sides are not bargaining in good faith. I refuse to watch, listen or read any article from the media, least of all listen to the mouthpiece that is Linton Johnson.

I will admit I am paid well (including benefits, etc) for my position and responsibilities at BART, considering the economic times I am paid VERY WELL. Hopefully both sides reach a compromise and the trains continue to roll. Last thing I want to think about it walking a line with a damn stick in my hand. Talk about being unproductive!

Anonymous said...

I am BART user since the 70's. BART is a public agency funded by taxes and fees. Strikes should be an illegal activity on any public transportation system. Unions are holding riders hostage and have been blackmailing riders for too long. This time I do not support unions in their demands. If they decide to strike, all of them should be fired including BART's management and the BART board of directors. I be more then willing to become a BART's train operator or station agent.
There is a petition going around to fire striking employees right on the spot.