Politics & Government
BART Talks: No Strike As Governor Orders 7-Day Inquiry Hearing
BART trains will continue to run even though no contract agreement was reached Sunday night
Although no contract agreement was reached Sunday evening, BART trains will continue to operate for the next week.
Gov. Jerry Brown stepped into the labor dispute late Sunday, ordering a 7-day board of inquiry hearing into the contract talks and the strike that shut down BART for four days in early July.
At the end of the week of hearings, the five-member inquiry board can order a 30-day cooling off period, a 60-day cooling off period or no cooling off period.
BART leaders asked the governor to step into the fray as a midnight deadline approached in the stalled labor negotiations.
BART board president Tom Radulovich sent the governor a letter, asking for the cooling off period to avoid major disruptions to Bay Area transportation and the regional economy.
"We believe the public should not be deprived of this essential public service unless all alternatives to avoid a work stoppage have been utilized," he wrote.
Negotiators from the Services Employees International Union Local 1021 and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 had given a 72-hour strike warning on Thursday evening, saying they would walk off the job on Monday morning if no contract was reached.
The two sides can continue to bargain during the next 7 days, but Leah Berlanga of the SEIU said Sunday night that union negotiators hadn't discussed yet whether to return to the bargaining table this week.
"We're very disappointed we weren't able to reach a contract," she said.
BART management and union negotiators had met all day Saturday and all day Sunday trying to resolve a contract dispute that has dragged on for months.
Berlanga said the two sides are still apart on key issues, but she wouldn't elaborate.
BART spokesman Rick Rice said the transit agency had three options on Sunday evening. They were reach a contract agreement, reach an agreement to extend talks or ask the governor for a cooling off period.
"The first two options didn't happen, so we went to the third option," he said.
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