The Golden Gate

Well, as I write this, the 12:01 “Strike Deadline” set by the BART workers’ unions has come and gone. The negotiations have continued through the night to this point, and according to the report I just heard on KGO News Radio 810, right now they’re taking a “time out” from negotiations. The report said that talks will resume some time after 12:30. Presumably the management and union reps will either reach an agreement tonight or the unions will walk off the job. Right now, we’re all just waiting.

The reporter on KGO seemed to think that things looked promising that an agreement would be reached at some point tonight, averting a strike.

As you know, we’ve been watching this situation real closely as things have come to a head over the past week or so. (Our other reports are here, here and here.) And one thing has become all too clear: even if a BART strike is averted this time around, the train system’s pay and benefits are way out of whack — and that goes for some of the management as well as the union workers. If BART can’t get it’s finances together (and they’re projected to run a $24 million deficit this year), it could be really dire times for the system — and local taxpayers.

And, make no mistake: BARTs unions are clearly to blame for this latest round of commuter nailbiting. They set this deadline. Their shortsighted and utterly selfish attempt to extort yet another gluttonous increase of 30% a mere three years plus after getting a 24% pay raise borders on the criminal. Naturally, the extreme pro-union elements of the left are saying it’s all the management’s fault (of course). But not a soul outside of union member/activist circles is buying that load of rubbish.

In fact, I get the very real sense that there’s a widespread and growing desire to see unions — and especially public employee unions — reformed and restrained. It seems pretty clear that people are tired of having a gun held to their head by the very folks that, supposedly, work for “all the people” and who are paid with our hard-earned tax dollars. Jason posted a bit about the harm that unions do to the overall economy in general. And, when public employee unions act as irresponsibly as the BART unions are, people get more and more fed up, which increases the chances that broad public employee union reform and restraint measures can pass — even in the “pro union” Bay Area.

I mean, strike or no strike (this time around) — enough is more than enough. The public is getting tired of being blackmailed. We need broad reforms of public employee unions in San Francisco and at the regional and state level as well.

Stay tuned for updates on “Black Wednesday” — and further developments in the public employees union reform movement.

UPDATE: Wed. 7/6/05 6:52 AM — Well, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the two sides reached a tentative agreement at about 3:00 am this morning. No specifics have been released yet, and union rank-and-file still need to ratify it, but there won’t be any BART strike today, thank goodness.