BART management, unions to go back to the negotiating table

This post has been updated. See below for details.

SAN FRANCISCO -- On Day 2 of the Bay Area Rapid Transit strike, after a full day of silence, BART management and two striking unions will go back to the bargaining table at 6 p.m. in Oakland, a system spokesman said Tuesday afternoon.

“The district has been notified by state mediators that negotiations will resume,” BART spokesman Rick Rice said. “After one full day of no meetings, we are eager to get back to the table.”

The announcement came hours after the state’s controller, insurance commissioner and lieutenant governor wrote to the parties involved urging that talks resume because of the effects on the busy region, which is “served by the fifth-busiest transit system in America, with nearly 400,000 daily riders.”

“Given the massive dislocation a protracted strike will cause, you owe the people of the Bay Area your time, your concentration and your best good-faith effort at reaching a bargained agreement,” Controller John Chiang, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote to BART management and unions. “It is our collective opinion that, so far, you have fallen short.”

The three elected officials noted that tens of thousands of residents depend on BART as “the sole accessible and affordable way to get to work, school, childcare and/or other family responsibilities.”

Meanwhile, the Bay Area Council on Tuesday released an estimate of the environmental cost of the transit strike, calculating that increased traffic congestion is generating almost 16 million pounds of carbon and wasting almost 800,000 gallons of gas every day at a cost of almost $3.3 million.

The public policy organization that represents business interests in the nine-county region on Monday had calculated the loss of productivity caused by the strike at $73 million per day from diminished work hours alone, with added effects from reduced spending.

“The BART union strike is not only increasing congestion on our roads, it’s polluting our air,” Jim Wunderman, the council’s president and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday. “BART plays a valuable role in removing cars from the road and the greenhouse gas emissions they generate. With more cars on the road and idling in traffic, this strike is taking a severe economic toll on the region and it’s harming our environment.”

The group relied on traffic and emissions data from the Texas Transportation Institute and said the 16.2 million pounds of additional carbon being generated as a result of the strike is equal to the weight of 267 BART cars, or almost 7.4 metric tons.

Some commuters adjusting to the strike’s second day showed up for promised BART shuttles from distant East Bay stations Tuesday morning, only to learn they had reached capacity before 7 a.m.

In a statement, a BART spokesman said the nearly five dozen free round-trip shuttles leaving El Cerrito del Norte, Walnut Creek, Dublin/Pleasanton and Fremont stations stopped taking passengers an hour before the end of the scheduled runs due to overcapacity.

BART, the statement said, will be attempting to locate additional buses in the event that the strike drags on into Wednesday.

[Updated, 3:52 p.m. July 2: In response to the letter, the Service Employees International Local 1021 said it would “be willing to consider” a to return to the bargaining table.

SEIU Local 1021 is one of two unions on strike from the 104-mile transit system. The other is the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555. ATU has not yet responded publicly to the letter.

“Our BART workers are intensely proud of the work they do,” said the SEIU letter, which was signed by three top union officials. “They’ve helped build one of the fastest-growing and highest-rated public transit systems in America.

“They’re committed to the work they do and would love to return to the job,” the letter continued. “We appreciate your recognition of the legitimate safety concerns raised by workers and the weakness of the District’s offer.”

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