Although BART management and union leaders reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Monday night, both sides are back at the bargaining table today to finalize the language in the contract, a union leader said.
Des Patten, a negotiator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said, “There’s still some clean-up work to be completed” before his union and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 can present the tentative pact to their members for a ratification vote.
A federal mediator is continuing to work with both sides, and the contract language probably won’t be finalized until sometime on Wednesday, Patten said.
He said the earliest SEIU Local 1021 members would vote on the tentative agreement would be Friday and it’s possible the vote might not take place until sometime next week.
ATU Local 1555 leaders couldn’t be reached for comment this morning.
BART spokesman Jim Allison said the transit agency’s board of directors won’t vote on the tentative agreement until after it is approved by both unions, assuming that they approve it.
Allison said that if the unions approve the contract, the board will likely schedule a special meeting to vote on it.
Patten said the unions will not release the details of the tentative agreement until after they present the contract to their members.
Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News
