LIVININTHELOIN

BART has launched a new website, www.bartlabor.com, to keep its riders and the public informed about the ongoing labor negotiations with unions representing more than 2,800 BART employees.

The site will feature regular updates on negotiations, facts and figures about BART’s budget and contract with organized labor, blog entries and video content.

“As we work to find a solution to our nearly $250 million deficit over the next four years, we want to keep our riders, employees and the public up-to-date about the need for a modern, fair and flexible contract with our workforce,” BART Chief Spokesperson Linton Johnson said. “We encourage people to check the site regularly for updates on the pace of negotiations.”

BART is facing a $54 million deficit for the coming fiscal year and a projected deficit of nearly $250 million over four years. The struggling economy, lower ridership, the elimination of state funding assistance plus the continuing increase of cost of health care and pension benefits have hammered BART’s budget. [bart.gov]

From bartlabor.com:  “The average BART employee makes more than $120,000 a year in salary and benefits.”

[not a joke] How many BART employees does it take to change a seat?

Last year, BART installed new seats in 205 train cars as part of a major upgrade of the interior amenities of our system. While we hope the changes are a comfort to our riders, they may be surprised to know that it takes two employees at BART to change out a seat cushion and backing under current contract rules.

The contract allows a utility worker to unfasten the snaps that hold a seat cushion in place. But the two screws fastening a seat back can only be touched by a journeyman mechanic. BART changed some 26,000 seat cushions last year. As a result, we think it would be more efficient if one employee was authorized to service the entire portion of a seat. It would result in freeing up mechanics to perform more important, skilled work.  [bartlabor.com]