Today’s hearing by the governor’s panel looking into BART contract negotiations produced some eye-poppers, not least of which is that the sides appear to be roughly $100 million apart. BART’s most recent salary offer is for 9 percent over four years, a long way from what the unions are demanding. But this is where it gets dicey for BART workers, from a PR standpoint, if things drag out over an anticipated 60-day cooling off period with no real concessions. From the Chronicle’s John Wildermuth:
The unions are asking for a 15 percent raise spread over three years, and said they would be willing to contribute 7 percent toward their pension if the agency helped offset that cost by an additional 6.5 percent raise the first year.
The unions are also are balking at BART's efforts to force their members to pay a greater part of their medical benefits, now capped at $92 a month.
BART
