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BART, unions reach tentative agreement for new 4-year contract

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BART and three of its five unions representing nearly 2,700 employees have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract that meets their goals to save the District $100 million in labor costs.

"After many hours of negotiations, we are very pleased to announce this tentative contract agreement with Service Employees International Union Local 1021 (SEIU), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU),"  BART Board of Directors President Thomas M. Blalock said. "It was our primary goal to achieve a fair and equitable contract in the best interest of our riders, taxpayers and our employees. This new contract will help BART balance its budget and will help put BART on more solid financial footing for the years to come. We thank our riders for their patience during this negotiating period."

"We were determined to reach an agreement that was fair to our members and our riders," SEIU 1021 Chapter President Lisa Isler said.  SEIU represents more than 1,500 mechanics, clerical and professional administrative staff.  "We recognized that we’re living in tough economic times.  I’m proud that the tentative deal will protect jobs while at the same time make BART a more efficient and customer-oriented operation."

The tentative agreement must be ratified by members of all three unions along with the BART Board of Directors before it takes effect.  In general, the agreement preserves base salaries, caps benefit costs and reforms work rules to make BART run more efficiently.

BART is working to eliminate an estimated $310 million four-year deficit amid a decline in ridership, state transit funding and sales tax revenue.  BART will continue to negotiate with its two police unions, which, by law, cannot strike.

Sign up for official BART news updates, follow @SFBART or follow a BART RSS feed for the latest. For additional background information about labor negotiations visit http://www.bartlabor.com/.