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Bay Area Commute Horror: BART strike looming

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B

besada

Banned
Cyan said:
Wow. Do we know what the salaries are for comparable private-sector jobs? Ideally also in CA for better comparability.
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I don't know about private sector, but a regular San Fran police officer starts at $88,842 to $112,164. Since the average for a BART cop (not starting but overall average) is in the $132K region, that one example isn't too far off the norm.
 
Y

You Are Viewtiful

Member
besada said:
I don't know about private sector, but a regular San Fran police officer starts at $88,842 to $112,164. Since the average for a BART cop (not starting but overall average) is in the $132K region, that one example isn't too far off the norm.
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If it starts at $112,000 then it becoming $130k with some overtime sounds about right.
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
SlipperySlope said:
This is one of the things I hate most about unions. They're holding the people of the Bay Area hostage for their own selfish greed.

Unions and strikes should be illegal.
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yeah worker safety, how dare those selfish bastards worry about their won safety!

entrement said:
I remember when the MTA in NYC went on strike. It was absolute hell and it crippled the city.
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I lost my job as a (in)direct result.

Natetan said:
That is ridiculous.
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and do you know how much overtime they have to do to do that? say bye-bye to the family.
 
E

EleventhDoctor

Banned
ReturnOfTheRAT said:
Is there a site that lists the increase in BART prices over the years?
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This is the best I could find:

ass98_fig43.gif
 
W

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
I will be renting out my driveway for 50 bucks a day. flat. complimentary breakfast in the morning.


inquire within.
 
C

CarpeDeezNutz

Member
I vaguely remember someone posting about some Filipino chick stripping naked and scream on a bus or some shit in the Bay Area a while back.
 
S

Sound Deploy

Neo Member
Okay, some of this information is really skewed. Train operators do not make six figure salaries and actually have to do crazy amounts of work. It's not just sitting on their ass and talking over the intercom calling stops. It takes years to get there, and it also requires difficult process in training and making sure all aspects of the train is in working order. Sometimes they work at the trainyards, climbing out of the trains in transbay tubes, and are often times overworked and overstressed. Without a union, no way can these workers ever live at the cost of the Bay Area.

Here's a brochure describing their pay, which is actually at the upper bounds (offers don't really start at that price) and taken from BART website.

http://www.bart.gov/docs/job_descriptions/jobs/TrainOperatorBrochure.pdf
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- SFGate: BART unions give notice of strike
Consider yourselves warned: BART unions officially gave notice late Thursday night that they could shut down the transit system when their contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Union officials did not elaborate on their decision, saying they would provide more details about their decision Friday at a 10 a.m. press conference.

Union representatives gave the 72-hour notice, which is not required, as a courtesy to passengers so they could plan ahead. The notice does not guarantee that employees will strike at midnight.

The BART unions - Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 and Service Employees International Union Local 1021 - have been meeting daily with transit officials to come up with a new labor agreement, and are scheduled to meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The unions representing train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff want BART to give them a raise and to protect their health care and pension benefits.

While ridership on BART has reached 400,000, generating an operating surplus, the agency has said it needs to trim costs to pay for $16 billion in major system upgrades over the next 10-15 years.

Regional transportation officials are warning the public that a strike would lead to thousands more cars crowding the freeways and bridges, particularly during peak hours. Commuters should delay trips or work from home, if possible, they advise. Other transit operators, including AC Transit and San Francisco Bay Ferry, have agreed to boost service with extra buses and boats, and BART is considering running charter buses from some of its stations.
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- SJ Merc: BART unions give 72-hour notice of a strike for Monday
The potential for chaotic commutes around the Bay Area sharply escalated late Thursday when BART unions officially gave 72-hour notice of a strike starting Monday morning.

Both sides could still reach a deal by their Sunday night deadline to avoid a strike, and management and unions said they would strongly prefer to avert a shutdown.

Still, official confirmation of a strike is the last step necessary for the unions before pulling the trigger on a work stoppage following rank-and-file members' overwhelming vote on Tuesday to authorize a potential strike.

"We are not at impasse, and we believe that we could reach a fair agreement that recognizes the extraordinary work that our members perform to maintain
A San Francisco-bound BART train at the West Oakland station, May 2013.

BART's outstanding service record and high customer satisfaction ratings," the letter from the local Service Employees International Union says. "However, BART's continued refusal to bargain in good faith leaves us with no option but to strike in protest."

The letter says that if a deal is not reached, the union will continue to work into the wee hours Monday morning to wrap up service that would begin on Sunday night but not show up to get the trains running for Monday's normal start time for service.

Union officials said they would comment further at a Friday morning news conference in Oakland.

BART officials were reviewing the letter late Thursday and were eager to get back to the table on Friday to work toward averting
a shutdown.

"We will pay attention to it but we certainly expect to be back at the table negotiating, as they said, to avoid this," BART spokesman Rick Rice said late Thursday night.

Both sides offered counter-proposals earlier on Thursday that were slightly closer to a middle ground, though they remained far apart on key issues such as wages.

Managers and union leaders expect to be back at the bargaining table Friday morning in Oakland and will continue talks throughout the weekend.
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T

ToxicAdam

Member
What's going to happen in the coming years leading up to 2018 when more union workers are faced with losing health care benefits due to the incoming 'caddilac tax' of Obamacare?

I would guess the public unions will just expect the taxpayers to foot the bill and private unions will have to threaten more strikes/slowdowns.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
jvalioli said:
So the MUNI is not included in this strike anymore?
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Doesn't sound like it. From Tuesday:
Extra service

AC Transit and the San Francisco Bay Ferries will add extra service to and from San Francisco, Caltrans and the CHP will enforce carpool lanes continuously from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., and other transit agencies will extend or boost service, said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

AC Transit's contract with its drivers also expires Sunday, and their union has taken a strike authorization vote. But representatives of the union and the transit system said it is unlikely, though not impossible, that drivers would strike in conjunction with BART workers.

In addition to its regular transbay buses, AC would run a shuttle service during peak hours between the 20th Street and Broadway transit center in downtown Oakland and the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco with buses running about every three to five minutes. The Oakland, Alameda, Harbor Bay and Vallejo ferries would all add boats and increase their departures.

Sam Trans would run a free shuttle between the Colma and Daly City BART stations and Mission Street near the Daly City-San Francisco border where riders can connect to Muni. Muni also plans to boost service, especially along the Mission Street corridor.

Other transit agencies, including Soltrans from Solano County and WestCAT from western Contra Costa County plan to extend service into San Francisco.

"We've come a long way," Goodwin said, "but we're still not going to be able to make up for the loss of 400,000 seats."
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V

vas_a_morir

Banned
I'll scab, for 20% less money.

Who do I need to contact to make it known?

I have a BA in advertising, and am fluent in an Asian language. Graduated Magna Cum Laude. Managerial experience.
 
O

otapnam

Member
The drivers make about 30 an hour if I'm not mistaken. then you add how much overtime you can get. I'm not sure if those salaries posted are the overall compensation which include the worth of benefits.

They really need to stay contributing to they're pensions. I'm tired of this shit. They better not Fuck up the commute next week.
 
R

remnant

Banned
Cyan said:
On the other hand, I am rather fond of weekends and the 40-hour work week.
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Becuase we all know if Bart and Muni workers don't get everything they want, there goes everyones weekends.

BART Police Officer: $135,464 including overtime

Train Operator: $120,122 including overtime

Customer Service: $110,958 including overtime

Elevator Worker: $110,275 including overtime

Cash Handling Foreworker: $108,629 including overtime

Facility Maintenance Supervisor: 107,617 including overtime
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Are these the people who sit in the booth all fucking day?
 
T

t26

Member
vas_a_morir said:
I'll scab, for 20% less money.

Who do I need to contact to make it known?

I have a BA in advertising, and am fluent in an Asian language. Graduated Magna Cum Laude. Managerial experience.
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Should have drop out of high school as work as a auto mechanic. One of my dad's former employee did that and is now working for BART. He is now making more money than my dad with better benefits.
 
G

Guevara

Member
People get all upset about how much Union members make and how good their benefits are.

Here's an idea: instead get upset about how little you make because you're not in a union.
 
Angry Fork

Angry Fork

Member
The anti-union, anti-worker tirades in here are stunning. I can't even bother getting upset and ranting, too much work.

Hope everything goes well for them and they get their demands. Wish there were more unions forming and striking.
 
F

FrenchToastDisciple

Member
Guevara said:
People get all upset about how much Union members make and how good their benefits are.

Here's an idea: instead get upset about how little you make because you're not in a union.
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Exactly. It reminds me of the attitude of people who get upset at people who want to work a sane amount of hours for a person to have a balanced life (40-45 hours) because they are constantly getting fucked by managers and don't feel it's fair for some people not to be miserable ("Welcome to my life," "Welcome to the real world"). Perhaps it's actually not okay? Perhaps just because it's the norm doesn't mean it should be passively tolerated. I understand some people can't fight the good fight or anything because they need the job security, but don't go farther and then pretend that people who get a middle class salary for the city they live in and don't have to work insane hours are somehow examples of villains or unions run amok.
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
So in lieu of the possible strike next week (which is most likely happening), I'll be staying with my Uncle in Daly City for Monday & Tuesday (though I'll be taking a half-day at work). Leaving for LA on Tuesday night but if the strike goes on past next week, and into the week of July 8th, I'll be staying with another Aunt in SF probably.

It's nice having family that's living in at least MUNI-accessible areas but totally inconvenient otherwise.

I get why the workers need to strike but at the same time, it's still a giant clusterfuck for riders that are dependent on Bart.
 
W

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
Oh my god this is going to be bananas... I'm morbidly curious to see how this is handled.
 
CHEEZMO™

CHEEZMO™

Obsidian fan
It sucks not having to work 12 hours a day 6 days a week in unsafe conditions for company scrip. Damn union commies!
sYkk258.gif
 
G

Gallbaro

Banned
jamesinclair said:
Except under your small government fantasy scenarios, there'd be no public transit.

Then what?
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I can cite numerous examples where private public transit existed with minimal subsidies and ran so much smoother than the government cluster fucks.

-BMT ran profitably for 20 years while forced to keep the fare at a nickel as NYC tried to starve it. Adjust that for inflation and realize it operated 100% on farebox revenue.

-As recent as 2006 NYC DOT bid out long distance (lowest revenue, highest cost) bus routes to privat e companies. Some, like NY Bus, made a profit off of farebox, needed no direct subsidy and paid taxes. Forced by the feds to take over these tax paying private companies, MTA formed MTA Bus Co. As this new government agency got Borg'd, it slowly started burning more and more money, it is still more efficient than NYCT because a lot of maintenance is sourced out to private contractors (So they operate better and are cheaper to maintain) but they are not operating at a profit anymore despite increased fair.
 
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