BART Talks: What Happens Next

Written by David Mills

This will be crucial week for Bay Area commuters.

An inquiry board has scheduled a Wednesday hearing on the BART labor talks while employees atAC Transit have issued their own strike warning for this week.

The three-member board of inquiry appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown announced late Monday it will hold a public hearing beginning at 10:30 a.m at the state building in Oakland to hear evidence on the BART labor dispute.

In particular, the board is asking union and management representatives to address the impacts a transit strike will have on the Bay Area.

BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the transit agency also plans to present the board with the agency's 10-year financial plan, including how much it needs to spend on capital improvements such as new trains.

Trost added they'll also walk through the proposals they've made to employee unions as well as the impact a BART strike would have on the Bay Area.

"We'll be there to explain all this," she said.

Antonette Bryant, a representative for the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, said earlier Monday her group will present their case for why their members need a significant pay increase after going four years without a raise in addition to the effects of a strike.

The board is expected to hear the oral arguments and accept written evidence.

At some point, the board will deliver their findings to the governor. Brown will then decide whether to extend the current cooling off period for another 60 days or let it expire.

The governor instituted a 7-day no-strike waiting period on Sunday night, ending a threatened walkout by BART workers on Monday morning.

However, Brown must go to court to extend the cooling off period, so chances are the matter will be resolved one way or another by Friday afternoon.

It's unclear if BART and negotiators for ATU Local 1555 and Service Employees International Union Local 1021 will meet again this week to continue negotiations.

Trost said BART is waiting to hear back from the state mediator appointed to guide the talks.

Bryant said the unions want to first determine how much of their time will be spent preparing for the board of inquiry hearing.

Meanwhile, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192 sent a letter to AC Transit's board of directors on Monday,informing them the bus system employees may strike at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if their contract demands aren't met.

The AC Transit employees' contract expired on July 1, the same day as the BART workers' agreement expired.

Like BART, these negotiations are stuck on pay raises and health benefit costs.