BART may turn down contract that ended strike

[RandySF]

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Just when the BART labor situation seemed resolved, ABC7 News has learned about a major glitch in the agreement -- a glitch so big the BART board is ready to vote it down.

The problem has to do with what BART considers a mistake in a clause that grants too much paid family leave to union workers.

BART's two largest unions approved the contract last month after workers went out on strike twice in the past four months. Now, sources tell ABC7 News that a page in the agreement somehow made it into the final draft and was signed by all the negotiators. However, BART officials claim they had rejected the provision and the union had verbally agreed to take it out.

The issue is family medical leave. The new contract states that BART will give full pay for the first six weeks. The old language said employees need to use sick leave and vacation time first. Sources tell ABC7 News that when BART management discovered the mistake, the unions said the clause could not be withdrawn.


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[arcane1]

1. As ex-fighter pilot Ted Striker would say:

What a pisser.

[mulsh]

2. That big bucks union busting negotiator really payed off.

jeeze doesn't any one know how to proof read. Maybe he shouldn't have taken all those days off during bargaining.

I have been on both management and union bargaining committees, for the record I prefer being on the union side. I would love to have been in the room when the union teams read this clause.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. No joke. It's in the contract. Mgmt needs to take its lumps.n/t

[Populist_Prole]

3. Perfect example of bad faith bargaining n/t

[KamaAina]

5. And that's just what they've done

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/BART-rejects-contract-provision-on-family-leave-4999115.php

BART's Board of Directors voted Thursday not to accept a contract already ratified by its unions unless a provision granting six weeks paid family leave was removed from the agreement.

The vote was 8-1, with director Zakhary Mallett opposed. He said he rejected the contract in its entirety.

Union leaders say they were stunned by the decision and claimed Thursday's vote was illegal, saying the only option open to the board was to vote yes or no on the entire contract.

Pete Castelli, executive director of SEIU 1021, the largest of BART's unions, said in a statement following the vote: "We're disappointed that the BART Board of Directors had decided not to fulfill their commitment to the workers and the riders by approving contracts without the provision on family medical leave. The unions have voted on and ratified these contracts in their entirety."

Three strikes and you're out, BART!