The BART Strike Media Fail

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/15770/bart_strike_media_fail/

Friday Oct 18, 2013 6:13 pm By Mike Elk



The MacArthur BART station closed in July during the workers' first strike. (Cathy=)/Flickr)


Early today, BART workers across the Bay Area went on strike, shutting down public transit in San Francisco and surrounding cities. However, in the coverage by the two major Bay Area papers, the San Jose Mercury News nor the San Francisco Chronicle, a key detail was missing: exactly how many workers are out on strike. I asked around and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), one of three unions representing the striking workers, told me the answer is 2,400.

Also absent from most media coverage were the details of a dispute over workplace authority that has been a major sticking point in negotiations. A statement posted on ATU Local 1555's Facebook page fills in the gaps:

In the past three days, we’ve found agreement on nearly every “must-have” issue for both sides including wages, hours, pensions and benefits. However, the last 72 hours have seen management demand new—and unreasonable—workplace authority that would give them license to abuse and extort our workers as we approached the finish line. BART owes us and the entire Bay Area an apology for their actions.

Negotiations ground to a halt as BART management introduced new work rules designed to reduce employee power in the workplace and employee workplace protections long after these issues had been previously set aside. Management’s desired changes to work rules could mean:

- Train operators being told mid-shift to leave the train and serve as Janitor

- Train operators told by management to skip safety breaks and continue operating trains and putting passengers at risk

FULL story at link.