Arya Aliabadi/File

AC Transit employees could strike this Thursday, following a 72-hour notice they issued Monday night.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192, a union that represents 1,760 bus operators, mechanics, dispatchers, clerical and allied workers at AC Transit, rejected a labor contract proposed by AC Transit. AC Transit union employees have already twice rejected proposed labor agreements.

On Tuesday, AC Transit’s board of directors asked Gov. Jerry Brown to impose a 60-day cooling-off period to stop AC Transit workers from striking, according to a press release from AC Transit. In a letter to Brown, AC Transit said the proposed strike would “significantly endanger the public’s health, safety and welfare.”

In early August, ATU Local 192 and AC Transit reached a tentative agreement on negotiations that included a wage increase of 9.5 percent over the next three years and monthly health care contributions of $70, $140 and $180, respectively, for each of the three years. However, the union rejected the contract.

“Like most Americans, our members lost substantial income during the great recession,” said ATU Local 192 President Yvonne Williams in an Oct. 2 press release by the union. “They are expressing concern about how this raise, after medical deductions, makes up for those past concessions.”

AC Transit spokesperson Clarence Johnson said that AC Transit has not received any requests from the union to change its proposal. There are no negotiations scheduled at this time, but he said there may be “at some point.”

“They rejected the contract, but they haven’t gotten back to us on what’s wrong with it,” Johnson said. “We’re kind of in the dark here on how to proceed with negotiations.”

ATU Local 192 workers transport about 200,000 passengers a day in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Of that number, Johnson said about 60,000 are schoolchildren.

BART union employees also threatened to strike on Tuesday, but they postponed the strike after deciding to continue negotiations that day. If an agreement is not met between unions and BART management, BART workers could go on strike this week.

In that case, 400,000 daily BART commuters could be left without transportation, in addition to the potentially 200,000 AC Transit riders on Thursday.

Tara Hurley covers city news. Contact her at thurley@dailycal.org.

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As adventurous as we Golden Bears are, trekking to San Francisco can sometimes seem daunting. With our hectic weeks and midterm frenzy, weekend hibernation time is essential.

Besides, we’ve seen Fisherman’s Wharf, we’ve “aw-ed” at the sea lions, we’ve treated ourselves to free chocolate at Ghirardelli Square and we can see the Golden Gate from our dorm room window. What more do we need to do?

The answer is: a lot! San Francisco is a big city, and we’ve only got four (or five …) years to explore it. So, if you’re already planning your weekend sleep-fest, we have a few suggestions that will get you out of bed and on your way before you can say “BART strike.”

1.  If you’re bored of the typical museum scene …

The Exploratorium is a great alternative. Instead of silence, it’s filled with clicking gadgets and ringing bells, and instead of “Do Not Touch” signs, the Exploratorium encourages hands-on engagement. Huge plus: It just moved from the middle of nowhere to a more convenient location at Pier 15.

2.  If you’re ready for some exercise …

Check out the mosaic on the 16th Avenue Titled Steps. This San Francisco secret is a hike of 163 steps to the top, but it’s well worth the view.

3.  If you’re actually a pinball wizard …

Take your spare laundry quarters (as if) and spend the day at the Musee Mecanique at Fisherman’s Wharf. This antique arcade has games dating back to the late 1800s, and they still work!

4.  If you’re a history buff…

Take a trip to 1906, and visit the “Golden Hydrant.” This (now golden) fire hydrant is responsible for the Mission’s survival of a seven-hour blaze that came after the April 18, 1906, earthquake.

5.  If you love the Berkeley hippie scene …

Make your way to Haight and Ashbury, where SF’s hippie culture was born. During the “Summer of Love,” psychedelic music and cheap rent brought big names such as Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin to the area. The bohemian culture and bright-painted houses created a new world. We hear it hasn’t changed much.

6.  If you’re sick of Cafe 3 …

Hit up the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturdays for some fresh food. With top chefs and local farmers, you’re bound to leave with your bags (and your stomach) full.

7.  If you’ve been living under a rock …

You probably haven’t heard that the house used in the TV show “Full House” is located in SF. Although it’s a real house, with real people living in it, it’s still cool to say: “I’ve been to the ‘Full House’ house.”

Image sources: idleformat, sapphiresierramist, crossroads-vashta-nerada-yo, ganesha.isis, grant_loy, sflovestory, bgreenlee, Alaskan Dude, schrierc, LipBomb

Contact Tara Lookabaugh at tlookabaugh@dailycal.org.

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Negotiations will continue tomorrow, but the possibility of another strike beginning Tuesday morning looms over the heads of Bay Area commuters. The postponement of a strike comes after Gov. Jerry Brown issued a 60-day cooling-off period, which ended Thursday night.

BART submitted its “last, best and final offer” at 4 p.m., an indication that no further negotiation is possible and a move that was rebuffed by some elected officials, including state Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.

“We want the trains to keep running, and we need both sides to keep talking to get there,” Skinner said. “So when BART management cut off negotiations today by putting forward a final offer at 4 p.m., we were disappointed, and we felt it did a lot of damage because it impeded progress.”

Gladys Rosario covers city news. Contact her at grosario@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @gladysrosario93.

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Benny Grush/Staff

Although BART management and labor unions failed to reach an agreement Thursday night, union leadership agreed to extend talks through the weekend, narrowly averting what would have been this year’s second BART strike.

In early August, San Francisco County Superior Court granted Gov. Jerry Brown’s request for a 60-day “cooling-off” period that barred BART employees from striking. This expired at the end of Thursday. If the two sides had failed to reach an agreement by then, BART employees could have gone on strike Friday, disrupting more than 400,000 daily commuters.

Talks between BART and labor unions are set to resume at 10 a.m. Friday. If an agreement is not reached this weekend, the unions could strike as early as Monday.

Negotiations earlier this week were stalled by various stumbling blocks as the parties sought to come to a consensus and avoid a repeat of the summer’s BART strike, which lasted from July 1 to 5.

On Tuesday night, unions and BART management were “very close” to an agreement, according to Des Patten, a spokesperson from Service Employees International Union Local 1021. However, negotiations fell through after BART management said there had been a miscommunication.

“That was an unfortunate situation,” Patten said. “We just told them, ‘You were at this point, and that’s where we expected you to be’ and what we were ready to talk about.”

One of the main points of contention during recent negotiations was an offer from BART to increase pay by 10 percent over four years, which unions said was insufficient.

“There’s no such thing as a 10 percent raise, because you first subtract the amount of money that will be used to pay for the pension, and then you subtract the amount that will be paid for medical,” Patten said. The service employees union also made “significant changes” to its wage offer during negotiations, he added.

On Thursday afternoon, BART spokesperson Jim Allison said BART management planned to present a new offer that was “greater than that 10 percent over four years.”

Previously, the two sides unofficially agreed on a plan to reimburse employees 72 cents for every $1 they contribute toward their pensions. The unions and BART management entered Thursday’s negotiations with this agreement tentatively in place, Allison said.

Another major issue discussed this week was safety measures in the workplace for BART employees, such as insufficient lighting and overgrown brush along tracks.

“Some areas of the tunnels are extremely dark, and you can’t see very well — it’s a danger for employees,” Patten said. “If something goes wrong and (patrons) have to evacuate the train, it’s very dark, and people could stumble and fall.”

Throughout this week, the two sides made progress on smaller, nonmonetary issues, including work regulations, according to Patten.

News editor Megan Messerly contributed to this report.

Contact Jessie Lau at jlau@dailycal.org.

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As college students, we know finding the time and money to devote to an evening of live music can be difficult. But as a resident of the Bay Area, it is simply a failure of resources to not take advantage of the nearby music scene. From the low-profile acts found at the aptly named Brick and Mortar Music Hall to the megastars that stop at the colossal Oracle Arena, the Bay Area offers concerts of every variety, many of which are actually easily accessible to the student body of UC Berkeley. This fall will close out a killer year of live shows with a strong lineup, and you should be sure to keep your eye on three BART-able venues for the majority of your live-music needs:

The Fillmore

A venue a little farther out than other similarly sized concert halls in San Francisco — but one of our favorites — the Fillmore is on any concert aficionado’s “Best in the Bay” list. With upcoming performances including Journeys Noise Tour, featuring 3OH!3, and a rare set by Third Eye Blind, we know you’ll be able to find something that fits your music style. In addition, the Fillmore is becoming a hub for new pop artists on the rise, as Lorde recently played a show last month and Icona Pop will grace the stage in December. The hall itself is set up well, with rich sound and a floor design that allows audience members to feel an intimate experience wherever they are located. One of San Francisco’s best offerings, the Fillmore’s shows will easily upgrade any night in the city by the Bay.

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

This impressive 7,000-capacity venue won’t bust your bank account. Tickets to big-name acts such as Robin Thicke and Steve Aoki sell for only about $50. Named after the infamous concert promoter himself, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium holds its own reputation for offering some truly notable acts. Upcoming shows include The Black Crowes, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and a special Halloween-night performance by the Flaming Lips and Tame Impala. The energy of the general-admission venue makes for a one-of-a-kind night every time you attend a show, and the big, open floor is perfect to go ballistic to your favorite songs on.

Fox Theater

Fox Theater is the best a UC Berkeley student can get. An intimate venue with reasonable priced tickets that is only 10 minutes away by BART, the Fox is where you should hope all your favorite bands choose to play when they frequent the Bay. The interior is beautiful and holds a truly unbeatable sound system as well as a tiered floor layout that makes any spot on the floor a great one from which to watch the show. Near an Umani Burger and a Home of Chicken and Waffles, the Fox has a leg up on any of its competition with its availability of pre-show grub. And with a great supply of upcoming acts this fall — including Jack Johnson, City and Colour, The Head and the Heart, Passion Pit, Iron and Wine, Zedd, CHVRCHES and Two Door Cinema Club — the Fox is easily the best-booked venue around. The concert hall is the only reason you need to decide to spend your weekend nights in Oakland instead of San Francisco.

Image Source:  Rob Lee, City Attorney of San Francisco, Donnaphoto, and NeitherFanboy under Creative Commons

Contact Pranav Trewn at ptrewn@dailycal.org.

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Sophia Elia/File

In one week, thousands of BART employees could go on strike for the second time this year.

The 60-day “cooling-off” period requested by Gov. Jerry Brown in early August, which prohibited BART labor unions from going on strike, will come to a close before midnight on Oct. 10. If no agreement is reached between BART management and the labor unions by then, the unions have the option of going on strike Oct. 11.

A strike may leave approximately 400,000 Bay Area commuters without transportation for an undetermined amount of time.

Although the cooling-off period was meant to allow more time for negotiations between BART management and labor unions, Service Employees International Union Local 1021 negotiator Leah Berlanga said little progress has been made.

According to Berlanga, BART management has not made any further proposals since the cooling-off period started. BART management’s current proposal suggests a 10 percent wage increase over four years.

SEIU Local 1021 and the Amalgamated Transit Union released their newest proposal on Wednesday. The proposal reflects a drop in the workers’ original wage requests, and they are now asking for a 3.75 percent increase in wages each year for the first two years and a 4 percent raise in the third year, 2016.

“We’re hoping that by taking the higher road here and taking the initiative to move things forward, management will take our lead,” Berlanga said. “The unions certainly want to reach an agreement. We’re trying to think of any which way to move this process along, but it’s been very, very difficult.”

SEIU Local 1021 met with BART management representatives Thursday afternoon to discuss the new proposal. BART spokesperson Jim Allison said that BART’s financial team spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning going over the new proposal and that they appreciated the labor unions’ offer because “it does indicate some movement on their part.”

The only agreement the two parties have come to so far is a pension swap. For every $1 that employees contribute to pensions, they will be reimbursed 72 cents. Employees currently do not contribute to pensions. Allison, however, said that because there is no contract yet, the agreement is not official — they’ve only agreed on the concept.

In the case that the strike does occur, BART has a contingency plan prepared. BART administration hopes to provide charter buses and to open its lots for free parking. AC Transit spokesperson Clarence Johnson said the AC Transit system will also try to help by increasing its transbay service as much as possible.

Allison understands the BART system cannot rely on the contingency plan, however.

“That plan is not going to make a huge dent in the traffic nightmare,” he said.

While he believes there is enough time to find a “middle ground” and reach an agreement before the injunction ends, there is one more possibility that may help prevent a strike.

SB 423, if passed in the California Legislature and signed by Brown, will force BART employees to abide by a no-strike clause in their expired contracts. Under state law, labor unions must honor expired contracts with the state government until a new contract is established. Because BART is a local agency, however, BART unions are not required to follow expired contracts.

Under SB 423, this loophole would close, and the BART unions would be required to follow the same rules as unions working with state agencies. In that case, the employees would not be able to strike.

“The only thing that bill would do would be tie our hands,” Berlanga said. “It doesn’t do anything to make things move more quickly or get things resolved at the table.”

Although Allison said the BART administration is not involved in lawmakers’ decisions, he acknowledged the right to strike is a part of the collective bargaining process.

“Our unions are a large part of what makes BART strong,” he said.

Contact Tahmina Achekzai at tachekzai@dailycal.org.

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Maura Chen/Staff

Contact Maura Chen at mchen@dailycal.org.

The post Bay Area Transit appeared first on The Daily Californian.

UC student regents are supposed to represent all UC students. Sadia Saifuddin’s leading role in the UC-wide anti-Israel divestment movement calls into question her willingness to represent the Jewish community — its extreme left excepted.

In pushing for divestment from the Middle East’s sole liberal democracy, she proved herself part of a radical passel of sanctimonious students whose pursuit of a narrow agenda knows no bounds of reason, propriety or honesty. She pursued the agenda of the Muslim community to the derogation of the Jewish community, and many Jewish students are anxious about what she will do next year.

Saifuddin’s record on free speech is also poor. Her sponsorship of SB 114, censuring professor Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of UC Santa Cruz (who had remarked on the worrying prevalence of anti-Semitism among Muslims in the UC system), was startlingly intolerant of Benjamin’s free speech rights.

Amid the invective directed against her during her confirmation process, there was substantial truth. We can only hope that Saifuddin will make her year as the first Muslim-American UC student regent a positive milestone — for which there is tremendous potential. If she uses her position to bring Muslim and Jewish students together and stands up for free campus dialogue, her tenure can fulfill that potential. We hope it does.

— Ariel Fridman,

UC Berkeley junior

Having the right to smoke

I am a nonsmoker and a proponent of healthy lifestyles, but I disagree with the Draft Tobacco-Free Campus Policy at UC Berkeley which states that there is no safe level of second-hand smoke.

The U.S. Surgeon General and the campus policy claim that “there is no safe level of secondhand smoke.” That is an unfounded claim and probably a false one when you consider infinitesimal quantities. Second, the policy prohibits tobacco products that affect only the user, including smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes.

I believe that people should be free to do what they want, especially if it does not directly harm someone else.

Also, I’d prefer that UC Berkeley spend its resources on education rather than on the enforcement of this policy.

—Jeffrey Yunes

Bioengineering doctoral student

Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org.

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At the request of BART administration, Brown appointed the three-person board, saying in a statement that a strike would “significantly disrupt public transportation services and will endanger the public’s health, safety, and welfare.” State law forbids any strike or lockout while the board finishes its investigation.

The board’s investigation will include the facts of the dispute and the respective positions of the parties but will not contain recommendations. The report will be made available to the public.

”The board is directed to provide me with a written report within the next seven days,” Brown said in the statement. “For the sake of the people of the Bay Area, I urge — in the strongest terms possible — the parties to meet quickly and as long as necessary to get this dispute resolved.”

The planned strike would have been the second this summer, following the expiration of a 30-day temporary agreement after July’s five-day strike. On Thursday, BART unions gave 72-hour notice of a strike that would begin Monday morning if a contract agreement was not reached between BART and BART unions Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555.

In July, negotiations focused on wage increases for BART workers and the ability to pay into their own pensions. The unions have also requested better security to protect themselves from violence on the job and general improvements such as better lighting on the tracks.

BART leaders said they opposed a strike, saying it unnecessarily harmed passengers.

“As we saw in early July, the effect of a public transit strike is a complete disruption of the Bay Area economy,” said BART President Tom Radulovich in a letter to Brown asking for a cooling-off period. “We believe the public should not be deprived of this essential public service unless all alternatives to prevent a work stoppage have been utilized.”

But union leaders, such as Pete Castelli, executive director of SEIU 1021, said that although BART employees and administration share the common goal of avoiding a strike, he is dissatisfied with BART’s management of the negotiations — especially the administration’s choice to hire Thomas Hock, a $400,000 outside consultant.

Hock left negotiations earlier this month to go on vacation and has only recently returned.

Union negotiators were informed of Hock’s availability ahead of negotiations, said BART spokesperson Rick Rice.

“Mr. Hock is an experienced negotiator, and the district has faith that he’ll get us through to a good contract this time,” he said.

Contact Jacob Brown and Madeleine Pauker at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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Alex Mousouris/Staff

BART unions gave 72-hour notice of a strike Thursday night that will begin Monday morning if an agreement is not reached between BART employees and administration.

The 30-day contract extension between labor unions Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, established after the July strike, will expire Sunday night and may lead to another strike if negotiations before then are unsuccessful.

“We are very disappointed and hope they reconsider their options,” said BART spokesperson Rick Rice in a press release Thursday. “A strike only stalls and delays the decisions that need to be made while using our riders as pawns.”

In an interview Thursday, he said that the end of the contract on Sunday does not guarantee a strike.

“We can continue talking Monday,” he said. “There’s really no reason for a strike and no hard, fast rule there has to be a strike. We are hoping to reach an agreement at the table and not throw the Bay Area into chaos again.”

Pete Castelli, executive director of SEIU 1021, said that although BART employees and administration share the common goal of avoiding a strike, he is dissatisfied with BART’s management of the negotiations — especially the administration’s choice to hire Thomas Hock, a $400,000 outside consultant.

Hock left negotiations earlier this month to go on vacation and has only recently returned.

“Frankly, on the big issues, we’ve done very little bargaining, and the blame lies squarely at the feet of the BART administration for allowing this outside consultant to not take it seriously,” Castelli said.

Union negotiators were informed of Hock’s availability ahead of negotiations, Rice said.

“Mr. Hock is an experienced negotiator, and the district has faith that he’ll get us through to a good contract this time,” he said.

Castelli said that negotiators have not yet reached an agreement that benefits BART workers.

“Right now, a worker that makes $52,000 a year would lose $2,000 if we take the current proposal on the table,” he said. “We haven’t had a raise in four years.”

Contact Madeleine Pauker at mpauker@dailycal.org.

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article misspelled Rick Rice’s last name.

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