BART union SEIU 1021 knocked for campaigning at workday meetings

BART union SEIU 1021 knocked for campaigning at workday meetings
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/BART-union-knocked-for-campaignin...
By John Wildermuth Published 3:21 pm, Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Union workers for BART improperly campaigned for state Senate candidate Susan Bonilla during workday meetings last month at maintenance facilities in the East Bay, a preliminary investigation by the transit agency has found.
The investigation came in response to complaints Monday by Steve Glazer, who is running against Bonilla in Tuesday’s all-Democrat special election for the state Senate district that includes parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Glazer’s complaint “was the first we heard of any of this,” said James Allison, a BART spokesman. “We had our attorneys look into it and by 6 p.m. had a preliminary finding.”
Based on interviews with some of the people involved, the workers apparently violated the agency’s rules against workplace political activity at break room meetings on April 29 and 30, the report found.
At a Monday campaign event, Glazer, the mayor of Orinda, brought out poster-size photographs of workers from the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 posing with Bonilla campaign signs inside BART maintenance facilities.
While BART officials had been told in advance of the union meetings, they were not told what the meetings would involve, Allison said.
Although the investigation is continuing, BART officials will remind workers of the ban on workplace political activity “and provide notice that the failure to comply with this provision in the future may result in disciplinary action,” the report stated.
Those meetings in the BART break rooms involve “members talking to members on a wide variety of topics,” which can include politics, said Pete Castelli, executive director of Local 1021. He said union officials would look into the complaint and “make sure everyone knows the rules” on political activity at work.
Political campaigning is allowed on BART platforms, although workers are not allowed to wear their uniforms or imply any endorsement by the transit agency, Allison said.
For Glazer, the incident was an opportunity to remind voters in the suburban Seventh State Senate District of his active opposition to the 2013 BART strikes and his call for a statewide ban on walkouts by transit workers. Bonilla, a Concord assemblywoman with strong support from labor, opposes a ban on BART strikes.
John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth