Contract Accord Ends Threat of BART Strike

A strike by 1,200 workers of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system was averted Sunday night when negotiators reached agreement on a new contract to replace one that expired in June, officials said.

The agreement ended the threat of a midnight strike that would have stranded 100,000 commuters a day and paralyzed vehicle traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

BART President John Glenn said the pact was reached with Local 790 of the United Public Employees Union, representing maintenance and clerical workers, after extended talks.

“The union and management met face-to-face through the weekend and ironed out a settlement,” Glenn said. “As in any negotiations, we gave a little and they gave a little.”

Union President Milt Waalkens predicted approval.

“I think they will be as happy as they can be with what we’ve gotten,” he said.

Members to Vote

A membership vote on the pact, the details of which were not released, was scheduled for Wednesday. The union earlier had rejected a proposed three-year contract calling for a 9.3% pay increase.

Before the agreement, thousands of rail commuters had been scrambling to find ways to get to work this morning. If the 71-mile system had shut down, traffic engineers said, the Bay Area would have experienced choking traffic jams and gridlock and other transit agencies would have been strained to the limit.

A BART training plan for replacement personnel ended over the weekend under the threat of a wildcat walkout by union drivers.

“We’re not going to stand by and let management learn to drive our trains when we’re not even on strike,” Hank White of the drivers’ union told BART officials.

The train operators had reached a contract agreement, but vowed to honor Local 790 picket lines.